Bulgarian Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkov has revealed that there is significant corporate interest in participating in the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) gas pipeline and a project that is dependent on it – the liquefied natural gas terminal at Alexandroupoli in Thrace, Greece.
Just before the planned completion of the IGB project’s market test, conducted by the ICGB consortium, the Bulgarian energy minister announced that six companies have submitted binding offers for the acquisition of capacity in the pipeline for quantities that total a greater capacity than what the IGB will allow for in its early stages. They include DEPA, Gastrade (both from Greece), Bulgargaz, Edison (Italy), Azerbaijan’s Socar and Noble from the US.
The participation of American and Azeri in the project is significant for the project, which involves the shipment of natural gas from the Shah Deniz 2 gas field through the Trans Adriatic Pipeline into the Western Balkans; and of LNG from the US via the terminal station at Alexandroupoli. The Alexandroupoli terminal has been included in the European Commission’s priority projects and has been placed on the list the Greek government has submitted to Brussels for funding from the so-called “Juncker fund.”
