BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept.30. The Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) will be able to cover most of Bulgaria’s winter demand for gas, facilitate exports to neighboring countries, Ornela Figurinaite, Energy Analyst, S&P Global Commodity Insights, told Trend.
She pointed out that the start-up of the second interconnector between Greece and Bulgaria will bring much-needed gas supply diversification and security to a region that has historically been heavily reliant on Russian gas.
“With Russian flows to Bulgaria having stopped in May, and a new contract yet to be agreed, Bulgaria’s ~0.5 Bcm of gas storage capacity is not sufficient to cover winter heating demand that often exceeds 10 mcm/d.
Therefore the 8 mcm/d of additional capacity that will be available through IGB will be able to cover most of the winter demand, facilitate exports to neighboring countries and allow sufficient storage filling in summer months,” added Figurinaite.
IGB is set to start commercial operations on October 1 this year.
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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