BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 5. ICGB, operator of the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB), is now also successfully offering capacity for volumes to come from the Alexandroupolis LNG terminal, creating more flexible opportunities for new shippers to enter the local market, said ICGB Executive Officer Teodora Georgieva, Trend reports via the company.
Being honored at the CEENERGY NEWS Awards 2023, which were held in Budapest, Hungary as part of the 4th annual Budapest Climate Summit, Georgieva highlighted IGB’s significance for the region’s energy market as a prerequisite for the project’s next phase – capacity expansion to 5 bcm/y.
“The interconnector is of vital importance to Bulgaria and plays well with all other energy infrastructures planned or already developed in the region – TANAP, TAP, EastMed, the LNG terminals in Greece – especially the one in Alexandroupolis. ICGB is already offering capacity at the interconnection point with the Greek national operator DESFA that will enable gas transportation upon the launch of the LNG terminal in Alexandroupolis, where the Bulgarian state is also a shareholder,” she said.
Georgieva went on to add that this strategy ensured high market interest and capacity booking for the gas year 2023-2024 and further, and provided more flexible opportunities for new shippers to enter our market.
The IGB gas pipeline connects with the Greek national gas transmission system (DESFA S.A.) and the Trans-Adriatic gas pipeline (TAP AG) in the area of Komotini (Greece), and with the Bulgarian gas transmission system (Bulgartransgaz EAD) in the area of Stara Zagora. The total length of the gas pipeline is 182 km, the diameter of the pipe - 32'' - and a design capacity of up to 3 billion m3/year in the direction Greece - Bulgaria. The gas pipeline enables the transportation of natural gas from new sources to other countries in the region as well, including Moldova and Ukraine.
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