BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 28. The Operation Permit for the Greek section of the interconnector Greece-Bulgaria was signed, allowing the start of the commercial operation of the pipeline on October 1st, 2022, the ICGB AD, the project company told Trend.
The gas interconnector Greece-Bulgaria was issued an Operation License for the territory of Greece. This is the last administrative step necessary for the legal introduction of the pipeline into operation on the territory of Greece.
The preparation for fulfilling the prerequisites for the issuance of the Operation Permit for IGB pipeline has started since January 2022 accompanied by numerous meetings with authorities, the third-party inspector, the contractor, with DESFA, TAP and framed with the collection and submission of a huge documentation package covering every aspect of construction discipline.
A similar document was issued today by the Bulgarian side.
The Executive Officers of ICGB Teodora Georgieva and George Satlas underlined the importance of the IGB pipeline for Greece, Bulgaria and the other neighboring countries. They emphasized that the IGB gas pipeline is a completely new route for secure natural gas supplies, which will ensure diversification of gas sources and will increase the competition on the market.
“We would like to thank everyone that contributed to IGB’s successful construction and permitting, allowing the commercial launch of the pipeline on October 1st, 2022, the official start of the new heating session,” they said.
IGB is of key importance for increasing the security of gas supplies and for ensuring the diversification of natural gas sources for Bulgaria and the wider region of Southeast Europe. The project connects Bulgaria to the Southern Gas Corridor and will enable secure supplies from a variety of sources to countries in Southeast and Central Europe, including Moldova and Ukraine.