IGB To See Even Stronger Market Interest Within Next Few Years Executive Director
Date
12/4/2023 12:25:04 AM
(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 4. The
Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) will see even stronger market
interest within the next few years, Teodora Georgieva, Executive
Officer of ICGB, the pipeline operator, said in an exclusive
interview with Trend .
"IGB's launch in late 2022 had a transformative effect on the
region's energy map. It came right on time for the start of the
heating season and immediately had a positive effect on the prices
for the Bulgarian consumers. In just the first 3 months of
operations we reached over 94 percent booked capacity, enabling
natural gas transportation to other countries in the region. One of
our first international markets for export was Moldova – thanks to
natural gas quantities from IGB, transported through the
Trans-Balkan gas pipeline. The synergy of the interconnector with
the existing infrastructure allowed us to provide security of
supply to a nation in a vulnerable position and it was a very
fulfilling moment for the entire ICGB team and a major milestone
for ICGB as a brand-new transmission system operator just entering
the market," she said.
Georgieva noted that one of the main challenges ICGB had to face
during the first year of operations was the need to grow rapidly
and expand its staff to match all the new activities it has to
perform as an independent transmission system operator.
"We managed to build a truly dedicated team with experienced
professionals, with international background and attention to
detail. Thanks to everyone's efforts we've had zero major incidents
and not a single day of gas flow interruption and this is an
achievement that marks our first anniversary," added the executive
director.
She went on to add that from the very beginning of the project,
the possibility of increasing the pipe's capacity to 5 bcm/y in
case of market interest has been set in our regulatory
framework.
"We can't get into the details about the expected timeline with
the progression of the incremental capacity process. On another
note, the construction of a compressor station in Komotini as well
as the FSRU near the town of Alexandroupolis, which is planned to
be in commercial operation in 2024, will contribute to reaching
IGB's full capacity potential, since those projects have excellent
synergy," added Georgieva.
The IGB gas pipeline connects 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 Greece - Bulgaria. The gas
pipeline enables the transportation of natural gas from new sources
to other countries in the region as well, including Moldova and
Ukraine.
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