Following an invitation by Greece’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, IENE’s Chairman and Executive Director, Mr. Costis Stambolis, attended the inauguration ceremony which signaled the launch of the commercial operation of the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB)The ceremony was held in Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia, on Saturday, October 1st, 2022, and took place at a critical moment for the EU, which faces a deep turmoil regarding its energy, its economy and security of supply which worsened considerably following Russia’s invasion in Ukraine last February. Greece’s Prime Minister, Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Bulgaria’s President. Mr. Rumen Radev, the President of Serbia, Mr. Aleksandar Vucic, Romania’s Prime Minister, Mr. Nicolae Ciucă, the President of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, as well as the President of the European Commission, Ms. Ursula von der Leyen, attended the ceremony, delivering short addresses.
A commonplace for all speakers was that IGB is of great strategic importance for the region, as, combined with the planned Alexandroupolis FSRU terminal (which will uptake in 2023), it will enhance the energy autonomy not only of the countries that cooperated in its realization, but also of the ones in Central Europe. The Greece – Bulgaria gas interconnector, together with the rest of the energy infrastructure that is being pursued in North Macedonia and Italy, make Greece a critical link and an energy gate, contributing decisively to European energy security and diversification of energy sources.
The IGB natural gas pipeline is a 182 km long and 32-inch diameter pipeline which connects the national natural gas transportation system of Greece, in the region of Komotini, to the national network of Bulgaria in the region of Stara Zagora.
In its first stage, the pipeline has the capacity to transport 3 billions cubic meters of gas per year, with the prospect of raising this capacity up to 5 billions cubic meters of gas per year.
Moreover, by the end of 2023, significant volumes of LNG, which will be regasified in the Alexandroupolis FSRU Terminal (the construction of which started last May) and will be channeled to Bulgaria and further north via the ICGB. These gas quantities, via TAP (Trans-Adriatic Pipeline), will supply the Greece – Bulgaria gas interconnector and, eventually, the markets of SE European countries.
IENE, through various reports and publications, including analyses, articles and Briefing Notes, has contributed a significant number of studies regarding the project of IGB since its inception.
We should further note that it was in the 1st SE Europe Energy Dialogue, organized by IENE in Thessaloniki, Greece, in June, 2007, that the idea of constructing a natural gas interconnector between Greece and Bulgaria was first put forward. Also, later, a detailed proposal on the project was presented in the Hellenic– Bulgarian Cooperation in Energy Sector Conference, held by the Institute in Sofia on April 29, 2010.
