ICGB AD to become independent operator of natural gas transportation

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

ICGB AD, the project company of the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria, will receive a certificate of an independent operator of natural gas transportation at a ceremony at the Energy and Water Regulation Commission (KEVR) on July 15, Azernews reports per Bulgarian media.

The certificate will be presented to ICGB Executive Directors Teodora Georgieva and Konstantinos Karayanakos by KEVR’s Chairman Stanislav Todorov and Greek Regulatory Body RAE Chairman Athanasios Dagoumas.

Thus, ICGB AD will become the second independent gas transmission operator in the country. This is a mandatory regulatory condition that allows the company to commercially operate the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria.

“The joint decision of KEVR and RAE was made after coordination with the European Commission. The entire process took place within a short time frame given the strategic importance of the interconnector,” the statement reads.

Azerbaijan and Bulgaria agreed to supply 1 billion cubic meters of gas per year through the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria in 2021. However, because the ICGB was still under construction, Azerbaijani gas was delivered to Bulgaria via the Kulata-Sidirokastro interconnection point.

The ICGB gas pipeline connects to the Greek national gas transmission system in Komotini and the Bulgarian national gas transmission system in Stara Zagora. The pipeline's length is 182 km, with a capacity of up to 3 billion cubic meters per year in the direction from Greece to Bulgaria. The pipeline is designed to increase its capacity up to 5 bcm/y depending on market interest and the capacities of neighboring gas transmission systems.

A cooperation memorandum has been signed between ICGB AD and TAP AG regarding joint actions in relation to the future connection of the ICGB pipeline and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline.

The ICGB project is critical in terms of increasing supply security and diversifying gas supplies for Bulgaria and the SEE region.