At the moment, all the main construction activities for the implementation of the project have been completed, and since the middle of June, all facilities have been filled with gas ("gasified") and successfully tested with real quantities of natural gas. The gas pipeline and all the adjacent ground facilities – seven crane nodes, two gas measuring stations and one dispatch center – are completed and technically sound, which was verified both by the construction supervision of the project and by a number of inspections and tests carried out in recent months. To date, all 182 km and adjacent facilities are filled with natural gas at a pressure of 40 bar. The execution of accompanying activities, which are not directly related to the operation of the interconnector, but are part of the planned project activities, is ongoing.
The ICGB company, which is developing the gas interconnection project between Greece and Bulgaria, has submitted to the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works an updated proposal for the introduction of phasing of the remaining activities until the start of commercial operation of the facility.
At the moment, all the main construction activities for the implementation of the project have been completed, and since the middle of June, all facilities have been filled with gas ("gasified") and successfully tested with real quantities of natural gas. The gas pipeline and all the adjacent ground facilities – seven crane nodes, two gas measuring stations and one dispatch center – are completed and technically sound, which was verified both by the construction supervision of the project and by a number of inspections and tests carried out in recent months.
To date, all 182 km and adjacent facilities are filled with natural gas at a pressure of 40 bar. The execution of accompanying activities, which are not directly related to the operation of the interconnector, but are part of the planned project activities, is ongoing.
With a view to putting IGB into commercial operation as soon as possible and speeding up the administrative processes necessary for the issuance of Act 15 and Act 16 for the territory of Bulgaria and the equivalent permits for Greece, the company submitted to the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works the necessary documents for identifying the stages of the remaining part of the construction works. The main goal is that all activities necessary for the start of commercial operation should be carried out as a priority in stage 1, which would allow a timely start of natural gas transmission through the interconnector. All other activities that are not directly related to the operation of the facility are separated into a separate stage. They will continue to be implemented in parallel with the operation of the facility.
In stage 1, the highest priority activities include: the already completed construction of the gas pipeline and ground facilities, as well as cathodic protection testing, laying signs along the gas pipeline, completing the integration and testing of the SCADA system for automatic control and management of the interconnector, testing of the fire protection system of the dispatch center, etc.
Among the activities identified in a separate stage are: completion of the laying of a spare optical cable, implementation of anti-erosion measures along the route of the gas pipeline, completion of the road to GIS Stara Zagora.
All the mentioned activities are part of the commitments of the Greek company AVAX, which executes the contract for the design, construction and commissioning of the gas pipeline. The developer has submitted information to the ICGB indicating the end of August for the completion of stage 1 activities, which will allow for the rapid commissioning of the pipeline. This also includes the priority completion of the automated (SCADA) gas pipeline control system.
The ICGB continues to work actively to fulfill the necessary requirements to obtain the Permit to Use and the relevant permits for Greece, communicating and fully cooperating with all institutions that have a commitment to this process. All efforts remain focused on putting the gas pipeline into commercial operation as soon as possible, and the main goal is to have this happen even before the start of the upcoming heating season.
The interconnector, which can provide almost all of Bulgaria's domestic natural gas consumption, is at the final stage of implementation. Looking forward to the imminent commercial commissioning of the facility, the ICGB relies on active and targeted institutional support.
The IGB (Greece-Bulgaria Intersystem Gas Connection) project is implemented by the mixed investment company "ICGB" JSC, registered in Bulgaria in 2011 with shareholders BEH EAD (50%) and IGI Poseidon (50%). The co-shareholder IGI Poseidon is a company registered in Greece, with shareholders the Greek company DEPA International Projects (50%) and the Italian energy group Edison S.p.A (50%).
In accordance with its charter, “ICGB JSC should be the owner of the IGB gas pipeline, financing its implementation, distributing its transmission capacity and receiving revenues from the transmission of natural gas.
The IGB gas pipeline is designed to connect with the Greek national gas transmission system (DESFA S.A.) and the Trans-Adriatic gas pipeline (TAP AG) in the area of Komotini (Greece), and with the Bulgarian gas transmission system (Bulgartransgaz EAD) in the area of Stara Zagora. The total length of the gas pipeline is 182 km, the diameter of the pipe - 32'' - and a design capacity of up to 3 billion m3/year in the direction of Greece-Bulgaria. Depending on the market interest in using a larger capacity and the possibilities of the neighboring gas transmission systems, the capacity is designed to increase to 5 billion m3/year with additional construction of a compressor station.
Source: Diana Zaikova 0885/074 422, 0885/614 131; Rositsa Donkova 0888/ 343 661