BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug.16. The deadline for commercial quantities of gas to be released through the new interconnector Greece-Bulgaria is 1 October, said Bulgaria’s Energy Minister Rosen Hristov, Trend reports via the local media.
As for the talks with Russia’s Gazprom, he noted that it will take at least another week to decide whether Bulgaria will negotiate with this company.
“Such negotiations will be conducted only if it turns out that Bulgaria cannot secure the necessary quantities of gas for the winter. In the coming days, analyses will be carried out on what quantities Bulgaria needs and at what price. We need gas that people can afford to pay for in order to continue working," Hristov noted.
The IGB project is of key importance for increasing security of supply and for ensuring diversification of natural gas sources for Bulgaria and the region of Southeast Europe. At the regional level, IGB will provide access to the gas transmission network for Bulgarian municipalities and regions that didn’t have an option for connectivity. The interconnector with Greece is an entirely new route for the transmission of natural gas to Europe and will give Bulgaria and the region access to supplies from new sources. The project will connect the country with the Southern Gas Corridor and has excellent synergy with other major energy projects such as TAP, TANAP, EastMed and the LNG terminal at Alexandroupolis.
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