BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 3. Bulgaria remains committed to further strengthening partnership within the Southern Gas Corridor framework, Bulgarian Energy Minister Traycho Traykov said at the 12th Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council and the 4th Ministerial Meeting of the Green Energy Advisory Council in Baku, Trend reports.
“The commissioning of the Greece–Bulgaria Gas Interconnector has effectively made Bulgaria an integral part of the strategic infrastructure of the Southern Gas Corridor. The corridor has already proven its important role in strengthening energy security for European countries, as well as in diversifying sources and routes. Bulgaria is consistently pursuing a policy aimed at developing its gas infrastructure. In this regard, we once again reaffirm our commitment to further strengthening partnership within the Southern Gas Corridor,” he said.
Traykov pointed out that the current challenges in the energy sector require robust cooperation mechanisms such as the reliable partnerships formed within the Southern Gas Corridor, and this cooperation is already extending to the initiatives on green energy corridors and zones.
“Bulgaria has supported the Green Energy Corridor project from the very beginning,” he said.
The Southern Gas Corridor, which delivers gas to Türkiye and Europe, consists of the following 4 elements:
- Second stage of development of Shah Deniz
- Expansion of the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCPX);
- Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline;
- Trans-Adriatic Pipeline.
To date, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline, the European segment of the Southern Gas Corridor has delivered 56 bcm of gas. Moreover, in January of this year, TAP underwent its first expansion by 1.2 bcm per year, to provide additional supplies to the European market as early as 2026.
The IGB gas pipeline connects with the Greek national gas transmission system (DESFA S.A.) and the Trans-Adriatic gas pipeline (TAP AG) in the area of Komotini (Greece), and with the Bulgarian gas transmission system (Bulgartransgaz EAD) in the area of Stara Zagora.
The total length of the gas pipeline is 182 km, the diameter of the pipe - 32'' - and a design capacity of up to 3 billion m3/year in the direction Greece - Bulgaria. Depending on the market interest for larger capacity and the possibilities of the neighboring gas transmission systems, the capacity of IGB is designed with the option for increase up to 5 billion m3/year.