November 11 (SeeNews) - Axpo Bulgaria, a division of Swiss energy group Axpo, was registered as the latest user of the Greece-Bulgaria natural gas interconnector and will now be able to book some of the available capacity, the pipeline's operator ICGB said.
Axpo Bulgaria will be able to take part in all future auctions of available capacity, ICGB said in a press statement on Thursday.
The amount of natural gas transported via the gas link from the start of operations on October 1 to November 1 totalled over 1 billion kWh or 95 million cubic metres (mcm), the transmission operator also said.
ICGB is preparing to launch two new auctions for free capacity for December.
"On November 21, the company will open an auction for firm forward monthly capacity in the direction Greece-Bulgaria. At the end of the month - on November 29, an auction for interruptible reverse flow capacity - in the opposite direction Bulgaria-Greece- will be announced," ICGB said.
The 182-kilometre pipeline, whose construction cost 253 million euro ($260 million), has total capacity of 3 billion cubic metres (bcm) per year, of which 1.57 bcm have already been booked under long-term contracts of up to 25 years.
($=0.9734 euro)