BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 13. The Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) is preparing for testing gas supplies from the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), said Ivan Shishkov, Bulgaria’s Acting Minister of Regional Development, Trend reports.
“The gas connection with Greece is in the final stage of implementation. The 72-hour tests of the interconnector have begun. Firstly, we will test the delivery from the Trans Adriatic Pipeline to see how gas enters our country from Greece via the new connection,” the minister told Bulgarian media.
The official promised this week that the gas pipeline will receive Act 15, and the other week it will get the Act 16. In practice, this means that Azerbaijani gas flows can start from October.
“We will be ready immediately to form a commission in the fastest way and to put the interconnector into operation”, Shishkov stated.
The IGB project is of key importance for increasing security of supply and for ensuring diversification of natural gas sources for Bulgaria and the region of Southeast Europe. At the regional level, IGB will provide access to the gas transmission network for Bulgarian municipalities and regions that didn’t have an option for connectivity. The interconnector with Greece is an entirely new route for the transmission of natural gas to Europe and will give Bulgaria and the region access to supplies from new sources. The project will connect the country with the Southern Gas Corridor and has excellent synergy with other major energy projects such as TAP, TANAP, EastMed and the LNG terminal at Alexandroupolis.