March 22 (SeeNews) - The Bulgaria-Greece gas interconnector will be completed by the end of June and is likely to begin commercial operations in September, Bulgarian prime minister Kiril Petkov said.
The interconnector could allow natural gas to be imported from Azerbaijan from September onwards, Petkov said on Monday after inspecting the pipeline works at the Greek town of Komotini.
The 220 million euro ($241.8 million) interconnector will link the Greek gas transmission network in the area of Komotini to the Bulgarian one near the southern city of Stara Zagora.
ICGB, which was awarded engineering, procurement and construction rights for the gas link in May 2019, had initially set a launch deadline for the pipeline of July 1. However, last week the company cited delays in deliveries to Greece, with a key gas metering station near Komotini only half-completed.
The pipeline is expected to boost the import of gas from Azerbaijan at a time when the ongoing war in Ukraine is propelling gas prices higher. It will also help achieve the European Union's goal to give up Russian gas entirely by 2030. The gas link is expected to aid the diversification of gas supply in Bulgaria, which relies almost entirely on Russian gas to meet its needs, and in Southeast Europe (SEE) as a whole.
The interconnector's projected annual capacity is up to 3 billion cu m of gas flowing from Greece to Bulgaria. Depending on interest from the market and the capacities of the neighbouring gas transmission networks, the capacity can be increased to up to 5 billion cu m per year.
($ = 0.9097 euro)