BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 7. Auctions for IGB capacity booking completed for 2023-2024 gas year, the ICGB told Trend.
A total of over 37 million kWh/day has been reserved for the gas year 2023/2024, which represents more than 70% of the available non-exempted capacity for that period.
The remaining quantity will be made available through quarterly, monthly, and daily auctions.
These auctions, conducted on two major platforms, offer available capacity for five consecutive gas years.
The local market has witnessed the entry of several new shippers who have secured capacity through booking in the interconnector for the first time.
With the current total capacity of approximately 3 bcm/y, the interconnector has already allocated 1.57 bcm/y under long-term contracts, providing access to natural gas from Azerbaijan. The remaining available capacity is being offered through two major European platforms: the PRISMA booking platform for the interconnection points at Komotini, Greece, in coordination with the transmission system operator of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and DESFA, and the Regional Booking Platform (RBP) for the interconnection point at Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, in cooperation with the national operator Bulgartransgaz.
Furthermore, ICGB (Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria) has recently initiated an incremental capacity process to assess the market demand for additional capacity, aiming to explore opportunities for expanding the IGB pipeline to approximately 5 bcm/y.
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