Azerbaijan to export 600 million cm of gas to Bulgaria by year-end 

It is predicted that approximately 600 million cm of gas will be exported to Bulgaria by the end of the year, Azerbaijani Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov wrote on Twitter, Report informs.

"We discussed the commercial commissioning of IGB and the gas supply to Bulgaria within the expansion of TAP with Nikola Stoyanov, Minister of Economy and Industry," the minister tweeted.

Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said that friendly and partnership relations with Bulgaria have deepened with energy cooperation: "Although the Gas Interconnector Greece–Bulgaria (IGB) is not ready, Azerbaijan has supplied 555 million cubic meters of natural gas to this country since last year. Since July this year, daily gas transportation to Bulgaria has increased to 2.6 million cubic meters."

At the meeting, it was noted that the commercial operation of the IGB is planned for October, and the pipeline will contribute to the energy supply of Bulgaria and Southeast Europe as a whole. During the conversation, the prospects of supplying additional gas volumes to Bulgaria within the framework of the expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor project were also considered.

Bulgarian Minister of Economy and Industry Nikola Stoyanov stressed that Azerbaijan is always a reliable partner. According to him, Bulgaria is interested in cooperation in the TAP expansion.

The sides also mulled Azerbaijan's plans for the production and export of electricity and hydrogen from the wind energy potential of the Caspian Sea, the prospects of exporting "green energy" to Europe, as well as opportunities for cooperation in other directions in the energy field.

TAP has transported 12 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe since it was put into operation, 10 billion cubic meters of which have been sent to Italy and 1 billion cubic meters to Greece and Bulgaria.

The construction of TAP was completed in October 2020. The total length of TAP is 878 km, of which 550 km passes through the northern part of Greece, 215 km through Albania, 105 km - along the bottom of the Adriatic Sea, and 8 km - through the territory of Italy.

The TAP AG consortium is considering three scenarios for increasing the pipeline's capacity: limited - up to 14.4 billion cubic meters, partial - up to 17.1 billion cubic meters, and complete - up to 20 billion cubic meters per year.

Azerbaijani gas supplies to consumers in Italy, Greece, and Bulgaria via TAP began on December 31, 2020.

IGB provides for the transportation of Shah Deniz 2 gas to Bulgaria. The state company Bulgargaz EAD signed a contract with the Shah Deniz consortium to supply 1 billion cubic meters of gas from the Shah Deniz-2 field. Azerbaijani natural gas will meet 25-30% of Bulgaria's needs.

150 kilometers of the pipeline, with a total length of 182 kilometers, run through Bulgaria. The pipeline's annual capacity is expected to be 3-5 billion cubic meters.