Pipes Arrive for Bulgaria-Greece Gas Link
More than 70 km of pipes have been delivered for construction of a gas link between Bulgaria and Greece, the project's operator ICGB said on May 16. Route-clearing, pipe-stringing and line pipe-welding work is also underway.
The Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) will run for 182.6 km and carry up to 3bn m3/yr of gas to Bulgaria mainly from Greek LNG terminals and the Southern Gas Corridor network, providing Bulgaria with alternatives to Russian gas. There is an option to raise its capacity to 5bn m3/yr at a later stage.
The project is slated for completion later this year. ICGB is a 50:50 joint venture between Bulgaria's state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding and IGI Poseidon, which in turn is 50% owned by Greece's government-run Depa and 50% by Italy's Edison, a division of French giant EDF.
Groundwork began in earnest after a €109mn ($118mn) loan deal was signed with the European Investment Bank in October last year. Bulgaria and Greece also signed an intergovernmental agreement on IGB at that time, and contractors were selected for pipe supply and construction.