Documents Renewed for Balkan Gas Corridor
Gas grid operators in Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary and Romania have renewed a memorandum on establishing a vertical gas corridor, Bulgaria’s ICGB said on December 13.
The proposed corridor would help the countries tap each other’s gas supplies, boosting their energy security. The centre piece of the project is the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB), a 182-km gas link due online in 2020.
ICGB, IGB’s operator, agreed on the renewal of the memorandum, originally signed in 2017, with Bulgaria’s Bulgartransgaz, Greece’s Desfa, Hungary’s FGSZ and Romania’s Transgaz. The document commits the parties to “exploring the technical capabilities and requirements for the construction of new gas pipelines, interconnectors or improvements to national gas transmission networks,” ICGB said.
IGB is expected to transport 3bn m3/yr of gas to Bulgaria, mainly from Greek LNG terminals and the Southern Gas Corridor, which brings gas from Azerbaijan. Bulgaria is also working with Russia to extend the TurkStream gas pipeline through its territory. These two projects will help in the country’s efforts to establish a regional gas hub.