Zoran Zaev noted that there is already a gas pipeline link between Strumica and Petrich, through which liquid natural gas is supplied from Bulgaria to Northern Macedonia. He said the second gas pipeline would improve common energy links between the two countries and facilitate both countries access to the Trans-Adriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP), which provides for the delivery of Azerbaijani gas to Europe. Northern Macedonia also plans to build an interconnector with Greece to contact TAP.
Northern Macedonia intends to build a gas pipeline to connect with Bulgaria to gain access to Azerbaijani gas, Trend.az reports, citing the “Central European Financial Observer”.
According to the announcement, representatives of the chambers of commerce and industry of Northern Macedonia and Bulgaria, have come up with a common initiative to build a gas pipeline, that will connect the town of Strumica with the neighboring Bulgarian town of Petrich.
The initiative was presented to the Prime Minister of Northern Macedonia - Zoran Zaev, as well as to his Bulgarian counterpart - Boyko Borisov. It is planned to set up a joint venture to develop the project and raise funds for its implementation. The project is estimated at € 20-25 million, and it is considered that it will take about three months to be completed.
Zaev noted that there is already a gas pipeline link between Strumica and Petrich, through which liquid natural gas is supplied from Bulgaria to Northern Macedonia. He said the second gas pipeline would improve common energy links between the two countries and facilitate both countries access to the Trans-Adriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP), which provides for the delivery of Azerbaijani gas to Europe.
Northern Macedonia also plans to build an interconnector with Greece to contact TAP.
The € 4.5 billion Trans-Adriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP) is part of the “Southern Gas Corridor” project. The initial capacity of TAP will be 10 billion cubic meters of gas annually, with the potential to be doubled. The construction of TAP is expected to be completed in 2020, so that the first quantities of Azerbaijani gas will be delivered to Europe the same year.
The pipeline is 878 kilometers long, 550 of which are already in Greece, 215 kilometers will be in Albania, 105 kilometers will pass along the bottom of the Adriatic Sea and eight kilometers will be on Italian territory.
TAP's shareholders are: BP - 20 percent, SOCAR - 20 percent, Snam - 20 percent, Fluxys - 19 percent, Enagás - 16 percent, AXPO - five percent.