INTERCONNECTOR

Europe relies on natural gas supplies from Azerbaijan.

This was stated by the ex-president of the Republic of Bulgaria, Petar Stoyanov, in "Trend" on November 17, 2022.

"Azerbaijan will play a very important role as Europe's energy partner, especially when we are facing the current energy crisis. Not only Bulgaria, but also all of Europe rely on the future energy cooperation with Azerbaijan," said Petar Stoyanov.

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.

The landmark Egypt-Greece Electricity Interconnection Project (GREGY), which is being developed by the Copelouzos Group company ELICA SA, was unveiled during the UN World Climate Change Conference COP 27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Greece aims to become a hub for the transfer of electricity produced by renewables in Africa and the Middle East to Central and Western Europe, amid a drive by governments to cut dependence on Russian fossil fuels. The idea is that green energy corridors will replace the pipelines that cross the continent from east to west and from north to south. The new sources of green energy for Europe lie in the south and across the Mediterranean Sea, in North Africa and the Middle East, and the route to Europe runs through Greece.

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.

The independent transmission operator ICGB, which operates the Greece-Bulgaria commercial interconnector, has entered into a natural gas transmission contract with the American company Linden Energy LLC. The agreement is for a period of 20 years.

Linden Energy LLC is a US-based company with strategic interests in the regional natural gas market. The company recently finalized an equity stake in one of Bulgaria's largest natural gas suppliers (“Overgas”) and announced plans to build a regasification facility in Albania.

Over 303,000,000 kWh were transferred over the Greece-Bulgaria interconnector in the first days of commercial operation of the facility. The amounts are equal to more than 303 GWh from October 1st to October 9th inclusive.

Carrier ICGB will offer monthly input and output capacity for November on 17/10/2022. The auctions will be held on two leading European platforms - PRISMA and RBP.

By the end of the year, Azerbaijan will provide 19 percent of Bulgaria's natural gas needs. This was stated by the Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan - Parviz Shahbazov on his Twitter page.

"In Romania, we discussed the development of bilateral energy cooperation with Rosen Hristov - the Minister of Energy of Bulgaria. By the end of the year, 19 percent of Bulgaria's natural gas needs will be provided by Azerbaijan," the publication says.

Procedures for commissioning the Greece-Bulgaria interconnector on October 1 are progressing according to schedule. The implementation of the project is in the final stage of realization and administrative procedures for issuing the relevant licenses for exploitation and right of use are running in parallel in both countries.