June 7 (SeeNews) - ICGB, the independent transmission operator of the Greece-Bulgaria natural gas interconnector, said on Wednesday that it picked DZI-General Insurance as the lead insurer for the pipeline for an initial term of 12 months, following an open public procurement procedure.
The total insurance premium for all types of insurance policies, including the possible contract extension of up to 24 months before the initial term expires, amounts to 2.65 million euro ($2.8 million), ICGB said in a press release.
DZI-General Insurance, part of the Bulgarian operations of Belgian financial services group KBC, was the sole bidder in March under the public tender that had an estimated value of 2.7 million euro.
DZI-General Insurance will cover the activities of the gas pipeline in its operational phase. The risk will be reinsured with leading reinsurers on the international market that have received a credit rating of at least "A-" by Standard & Poor's or AM Best, ICGB added.
The policy covers risks such as property damage, including machinery breakdown and operational stoppage; general liability including pollution as well as risks linked to terrorism, sabotage, strikes, riots, civil disturbances and malicious acts that lead to breaches in commercial or operational activity along with third-party liability in case of terrorist acts.
The 182-km Greece-Bulgaria interconnector has an initial capacity of up to 3 billion cubic metres (bcm) per year flowing north from Greece to Bulgaria and covers over 70% of Bulgaria's consumption needs estimated in June. The gas link is engineered with the possibility of increasing its capacity to 5 bcm/year, which hinges on the construction of an additional compressor station and the volume of market interest, to be established by planned market tests later this year.
($ = 0.9331 euro)
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