"Bulgaria and Greece will make every effort to complete the construction of the IGB Interconnector (Interconnector Greece - Bulgaria) as soon as possible, which is a gas interconnector between the two countries," Bulgarian and Greek Prime Ministers Kiril Petkov and Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at a meeting in Sofia, Report informs citing foreign media.
Mitsotakis acknowledged that the completion of the IGB gas pipeline has been delayed for several months due to delays in the import of materials due to COVID-19. However, now the IGB project has overcome the difficulties and is in the final stages of implementation.
The prime ministers of Greece and Bulgaria reaffirmed their countries' commitment to the project and its importance for both sides.
The IGB envisages the transportation of gas produced in the second phase of the Shah Deniz gas condensate field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea to Bulgaria. Through this pipeline, which will be connected to TAP, Bulgaria will import 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually 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. At the expense of Azerbaijani natural gas, Bulgaria will be able to meet 25-30% of its gas needs. The construction of the IGB is expected to be completed in the second half of next year.
A total of 150 kilometers of the 182-kilometer pipeline will pass through Bulgaria. The annual capacity of the pipeline is estimated at 3-5 billion cubic meters.
As part of the development of the Southern Gas Corridor, the countries of South-Eastern and Central Europe will have the opportunity to import alternative supplies and liquefied natural gas from the Caspian region through the IGB.
https://report.az/en/energy/greek-pm-implementation-of-igb-project-reaches-final-stage/