The quantities of natural gas currently flowing through the interconnector provide nearly 1/3 of Bulgaria's domestic consumption since the beginning of the heating season.
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 182-kilometer gas pipeline connects the gas transmission networks of Greece and Bulgaria at the Komotini and Stara Zagora points, and is Bulgaria's direct connection to the Trans-Adriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP). The total capacity of the IGB is 3 billion cubic meters per year, with 1.57 billion cubic meters already reserved under long-term contracts lasting up to 25 years.
The remaining free capacity is offered in a transparent and accessible way on the two European platforms PRISMA and RBP. The independent transmission operator of the gas connection ICGB is about to announce two new tenders for the free capacity for the month of December. On November 21, the company will open an auction for fixed monthly capacity in the right direction (Greece-Bulgaria). At the end of the month - on November 29, a tender for interruptible capacity in the opposite direction (Bulgaria-Greece) will be announced.
Within the past month, the first new user of the intersystem gas connection Greece-Bulgaria was also registered. The company "Axpo Bulgaria" (part of the Axpo Group, Switzerland) has successfully gone through all the steps of the registration process and is now able to participate in all capacity auctions that the ICGB announces on both platforms. As a transmission operator, ICGB continues discussions with all traders interested in reserving spare capacity at the facility.
The quantities of natural gas currently flowing through the interconnector provide nearly 1/3 of Bulgaria's domestic consumption since the beginning of the heating season.
The IGB project (Greece-Bulgaria Intersystem Gas Connection) is implemented by the mixed investment company “ICGB” JSC, registered in Bulgaria in 2011 with shareholders BEH JSC (50%) and IGI Poseidon (50%). The joint shareholder IGI Poseidon is a company registered in Greece, with shareholders the Greek company DEPA International Projects S.A. (50%) and the Italian energy group Edison S.p.A (50%).
In accordance with its charter, “ICGB” JSC is 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 connected to the Greek national gas transmission system (DESFA S.A.) and the Trans-Adriatic gas pipeline (TAP AG) in the area of Komotini (Greece), and to 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 Zaykova, 0885/074 422, 0885/614 131, Rositza Donkova, 0888/343 661