January 22 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's gas transmission system operator Bulgartransgaz said it has increased the gas years in Phase 2 of the economic test of the open season procedure for booking incremental capacity from the border with Turkey to the border with Serbia.
With a view to improving the parameters and the probability of a positive economic test, the number of the gas years offered for booking have been increased from 15 to 20 and the booking price has been adjusted in line with the longer booking period, Bulgartransgaz said in a notice posted on its website on Monday.
The conditions for a successful Phase 1 of the economic test were not fulfilled, although binding offers for participation were submitted by three candidates, Bulgartransgaz said. It did not name the bidders.
In Phase 2 of the economic test, Bulgartransgaz will offer 510.7 million kWh/d of annual transmission capacity in the flow direction from Turkey to Bulgaria at a price of 315.75 levs ($183.4/161.4 euro) per ÐœWh, the company said.
In the Bulgaria-Serbia flow direction, Bulgartransgaz will offer 114 million kWh/d of annual transmission capacity in the period between January 2020 and October 2021, and 355.7 million kWh/d as of October 2021, at a price of 521.04 levs per KWh/d, it added.
Depending on the results, Bulgartransgaz will decide whether to build a new 484 km gas pipeline from compressor station Nova Provadiya, which will be located some 50 km away from the Black Sea coast city of Varna, to the border with Serbia. The project also envisages construction of a new pipeline of 11 km length to the border with Turkey and another compressor station, located some 400 km away from compressor station Nova Provadiya.
Russia's Gazprom plans to build a string of TurkStream for transit of gas to Europe from Turkey via Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary. The TurkStream offshore gas pipeline, stretching 930 km across the Black Sea from Russia to Turkey, will consist of two parallel strings with annual throughput capacity of 15.75 billion cubic metres of gas each. One string is intended for consumers in Turkey, while the second will carry gas to customers in Europe.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)