BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb.3
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The direct effect of the Southern Gas Corridor project implementation will transform Bulgaria and its gas transmission system into a major part of the infrastructure for gas supply from alternative sources for the entire region of Central and Southeast Europe, Bulgaria’s Minister of energy Alexander Nikolov said in an exclusive interview with Trend.
He noted that the project is also linked to the gas interconnector between Greece and Bulgaria (IGB) project.
The IGB project will provide Bulgaria and other countries in Southeast and Central Europe with access to the Southern gas corridor. It will also ensure that Bulgaria is able to import the contracted quantity of 1 billion m3 of natural gas per year from Shah Deniz 2 gas field in Azerbaijan. The interconnector will also provide a possibility for gas supply via the LNG terminal in Alexandroupoli from producers like the United States, Qatar, Algeria, Nigeria, etc., including Israel and Egypt in the future. In this respect, we expect the role of natural gas to be adequately taken into account within the process of development of new initiatives at EU level. Especially for carbon-intensive regions, natural gas has no alternative in the energy transition phase. It stands out as a transition fuel because of its economic viability compared to emerging renewable technologies and less polluting effects compared to other fossil fuels. It is also frequently cited as a driver of the energy transition because of its central role in the scaling up of hydrogen – which the European Union, among others, has predicted will play a key role in a future climate-neutral economy,” said the minister.
Nikolov pointed out that one of the Bulgarian main objectives with regard to the diversification of energy sources is increasing diversification of the sources of natural gas supply from the Caspian Region.
“This objective is stated in our Integrated Energy and Climate Plan 2021 – 2030. We appreciate the opportunity for natural gas supply via the Southern Gas Corridor as this results in real diversification of the sources of natural gas supply to Bulgaria,” added the energy minister.
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