BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 22. ICGB, the operator of the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB), is working to speed up the market test process for capacity expansion, Teodora Georgieva, Executive Officer of ICGB, the pipeline operator, said in an exclusive interview with Trend.
She noted that ICGB launched the non-binding phase of the incremental capacity process in 2023 – only about a year since the start of the pipeline’s commercial operations.
“The results – although not binding at the moment – were well beyond what we as a TSO hoped to see. This is why we took the strategic decision to act fast and try to optimize whenever possible the timeline for an expansion process, allowing IGB’s capacity to go from 3 bcm/y to 5 bcm/y. This is of major significance to the overall strategic goal to accommodate 10 bcm/y of LNG from the terminals Greece and Caspian gas through the Southern Gas Corridor to reach the markets of Moldova, Ukraine, Hungary and Slovakia,” added Georgieva.
The executive director pointed out that the binding phase will be in July 2024.
“Meanwhile, we’re working close with other adjacent TSO and with the respective regulatory authorities to try and speed up all relevant processes. Given the region’s dynamics and changed security environment, the market needs new, secure and predictable routes for diversified deliveries and as TSOs our job is to make this possible,” she noted.
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. Depending on the market interest for larger capacity and the possibilities of the neighboring gas transmission systems, the capacity of IGB is designed with the option for increase up to 5 billion m3/year with additional construction of a compressor station.
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