Bulgaria has sent a request to reserve capacity at the Revythoussa LNG Terminal operated by DESFA (Hellenic Gas Transmission System Operator), Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA) sources said on Friday, in order to secure quantities of natural gas in case of a disruption of the supply from Russia, Report informs, citing the Bulgarian media.
The request is viewed positively as planned LNG cargoes for the Greek market, combined with the existing energy reserves, cover the country's consumption needs.
The Greek system is connected with that of Bulgaria at Sidirokastro, the point at which Russian natural gas is imported into Greece, where there is also the option of countercurrent flow to supply Bulgaria.
The ANA sources said that there was also an initially positive reaction to a request to secure additional quantities of natural gas from the TAP pipeline, which carries natural gas from Azerbaijan to Europe via Turkiye and Greece.
As Environment and Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas said after a Crisis Management Team meeting on Friday morning, it is possible to increase the quantity of natural gas from the TAP pipeline, which crosses northern Greece.
TAP transports natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz field in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea to Europe. The 878 km long pipeline connects with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Turkish-Greek border in Kipoi, crosses Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Southern Italy.
On the first day of the project, which started the flow of natural gas to Europe on December 31, 2020, 10.9 million cubic meters of natural gas was transported to Europe via TAP.
TAP will facilitate gas supplies to South Eastern European countries through prospective interconnectors. In particular, Bulgaria will be able to cover up to 33% of its total gas demand through TAP after the completion of the Interconnector Greece Bulgaria (IGB). TAP's exits in Greece and Albania together with the landfall in Italy provide multiple opportunities for further transport of gas from Azerbaijan to the broader European markets.
As a key part of the Southern Gas Corridor, TAP is strategically and economically important to Europe and essential in providing reliable access to a new source of natural gas. TAP plays a significant role in boosting Europe's energy security, supply diversification, as well as decarbonisation objectives.
The project includes BP (operator - 28.8%), AzSD (10%), SGC Upstream (6.7%), LUKoil (10%), Petronas (15.5%), NICO (10%) and TPAO (19%).
The IGB is designed to transport blue fuel from Shah Deniz 2 to Bulgaria. Through this pipeline, which will join TAP, Bulgaria will import 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year from Azerbaijan. Thus, the state company Bulgargaz EAD has signed a contract with the Shah Deniz consortium to purchase this amount of gas from the Shah Deniz-2 field. Azerbaijan will be able to meet 25-30% of Bulgaria's gas needs. Construction work on the IGB is expected to be completed in the second half of this year.