Timeframe for Azerbaijani gas supplies to Bulgaria via IGB revealed

The long-awaited gas pipeline transporting natural gas from Greece to Bulgaria will be ready in late June and enter operations in September 2022, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said, Report informs referring to the Pipeline Technology Journal.

The Greece-Bulgaria pipeline will help reduce Bulgaria's reliance on Russian gas, which constitutes a better proportion of Bulgaria's domestic gas consumption.

Bulgaria is currently meeting nearly all its domestic gas consumption with imports from Russia's Gazprom. The pipeline fits in Europe's renewed efforts to end reliance on Russia's gas, a key priority in the latest Europe's policies following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The planned 220-million-euro Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) was scheduled to be completed by 2020, but the project faced several administrative hurdles in recent years, leading to its long delay.

However, there's hope at the end of the tunnel following the Prime Minister's remarks after inspecting the long-delayed pipeline project.

"June will be the final date for the completion of this project, which is very important for us," said the Bulgarian Prime Minister, Kiril Petkov, after inspecting the construction site in the Greek town of Komotini in the company of Greek Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas.

Bulgaria has sealed a deal to receive 1 bcm of Azerbaijani gas to meet part of its 3 bcm domestic gas consumption but can only tap the contract after the 180-kilometer-long pipeline becomes operational. The pipeline is being built by a joint venture with Bulgaria energy company energy BEH, Italy's Edison, and Greece's gas utility DEPA.

When completed, the pipeline will have the capacity to transport 3 bcm of gas, which can be expanded to 5 bcm.

Last year, 273 million cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas were exported to Bulgaria.

The construction of the IGB gas pipeline started on May 22, 2019 in Bulgaria. The IGB will connect Komotini in northeastern Greece and Stara Zagora in central Bulgaria. The length of the gas pipeline will be 182.6 km, 150 of which will pass through the territory of Bulgaria.

IGB is intended for the export to Bulgaria of natural gas produced as part of the second phase of the development of the Shah Deniz gas condensate field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. The IGB will be connected to the TAP.