November 1 (SeeNews) - ICGB, the project company developing the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB), said it has extended the deadline for submission of binding offers in the second stage of a market test for the future pipeline that will link the natural gas grids of the two neighbouring countries.
The deadline has been extended to November 30 from October 31, ICGB said in a statement on its website on Monday. The second bidding round of the market test was officially launched on August 5.
The extension is based on requests by participants in the first phase, ICGB said, adding that all other terms and conditions in the market test documentation remain in force.
During the first bidding round, when interested companies had to declare expression of interest by April 8, ICGB received nine non-binding offers.The Bulgarian Energy Holding, which together with Greece's IGI Poseidon holds an equal stake in ICGB, has named six of them - its subsidiary gas monopoly Bulgargaz, Edison, Greece's DEPA and Gastrade, Azerbajan's Socar and US-based Noble.
The nine interested companies requested a total aggregate capacity of 4.3 bcm per year for gas transportation services in firm forward mode from Greece to Bulgaria and approximately 1 bcm per year for gas transportation services in firm reverse mode from Bulgaria to Greece.
The 182 km long IGB pipeline will link the northeastern Greek city of Komotini with Stara Zagora in central Bulgaria. It is estimated to cost 220 million euro ($241.8 million). The pipeline will carry 3 billion cu m of natural gas annually in its initial stage and will have a maximum capacity of 5 billion cu m per year. It will eventually be connected to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which will carry Azeri gas to Europe through Greece.
Bulgaria and Greece signed a final investment decision on the construction of the gas link in December 2015.
($=0.9099 euro)