ICGB

Following a tender in accordance with the Public Procurement Law, ICGB commissions a Bulgarian company to develop a detailed design for the Stara Zagora gas metering station (GIS2), which will expand the capacity of the IGB gas pipeline. The transport operator is working to develop the gas pipeline infrastructure and increase the total technical capacity from 3 billion cubic meters per year to 5 billion cubic meters per year.

Plans to expand the capacity of the IGB interconnector to 5 billion cubic meters per year will be of great importance to be able to transfer 10 billion cubic meters per year of LNG from the terminals in Greece and Caspian gas through the Southern Gas Corridor, reaching Moldova, Ukraine, Hungary and Slovakia.

Over 15.5 million megawatt-hours (MWh) were transported on the Greece-Bulgaria gas interconnection in 2023. The project celebrated its first anniversary and successfully achieved 365 days of operation without interruption of activities.

The capacity of the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB), which has 15 gas traders as registered users, was booked by 90 percent in February, Teodora Georgieva, chief executive director of ICGB company, the pipeline operator, said, Trend reports.

Moreover, she noted that in December, with over 90 percent of its capacity booked, IGB transported gas to Moldova.

Around 4.875 million megawatt hours were transported through the Greece-Bulgaria gas pipeline (IGB) for the period October 1 - December 31, 2022, the ICGB, the pipeline operator, told Trend.

“In December, just months after the pipeline entered commercial operation, IGB’s capacity reached over 94 percent booking rate. By the end of 2022, there are 11 registered users of the interconnector,” said the company.

Representatives of ICGB AD (Bulgaria), Bulgartransgaz EAD (Bulgaria), DESFA S.A. (Greece), Gastrade S.A. (Greece), FGSZ LTD (Hungary) and SNTGN TRANSGAZ S.A. (Romania) signed the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding on the implementation of the Vertical Gas Corridor. The meeting took place in Athens, Greece.

Activities for the implementation of the stages specified in the Construction Permit for the Greece-Bulgaria Interconnector are progressing and are being implemented by the Greek construction company AVAX.

These activities do not interfere with the independent functioning of the gas pipeline, which is why the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works MRDPW approved their separation into separate stages of construction.

Over 1 billion kWh were transferred via the intersystem gas connection Greece-Bulgaria in the first month of commercial operation of the gas pipeline. The total amount of natural gas for the period October 1 - November 1, 2022 amounts to 1,105,908,000 kWh or 95,000,000 cubic meters.

A new reduction in the price of natural gas. The Energy and Water Regulation Commission (EWRC) approved a price of BGN 123.01 per megawatt hour for November. Thus, the reduction compared to October is slightly over 47%. “Bulgargaz” proposed the price to be 123.46, but after calculation, KEVR made the correction.

The initial statement of “Bulgargaz” from the end of October was that we would pay about BGN 130. Due to the continuing tendency for gas to become cheaper on the exchanges, the approved price is lower.

The independent transmission operator ICGB absorbed the last tranche of the long-term loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the implementation of the intersystem gas connection Greece-Bulgaria.