Greece and Bulgaria have agreed on the construction of a pipeline
that will allow Bulgaria to import natural gas from the Caspian Sea
region, the Greek Development Ministry said yesterday.
Bulgaria’s
state-owned Energy Holding signed an agreement with Greek gas company
DEPA and Italy’s Edison on setting up a company to construct and
operate the pipeline, and a second company to supply and exploit the
gas commercially.
The Development Ministry said the deal will
provide a boost to Greece’s energy security due to the higher volume of
natural gas transported to and from the country.
“This deal will
also allow Greek consumers to benefit from lower natural gas prices
arising from the increased volumes,” it said in a statement.
The
link, called Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria, or IGB, will allow
Bulgaria to import 1 billion cubic meters of gas from Azerbaijan each
year from 2012 through the ITGI pipeline due to carry Caspian gas via
Turkey and Greece to Italy.
The Interconnector
Turkey-Greece-Italy, or ITGI, pipeline has been strongly supported by
the United States as an alternative supply source to Russian gas. The
Greek-Turkish section of the pipeline was inaugurated in late 2007.
Costs
for the IGB pipeline – a 160-kilometer link between Komotini, northern
Greece, and Stara Zagora in Bulgaria – are estimated at 120 million
euros, of which some 45 million euros will be provided by the European
Union.
Bulgaria’s Energy Holding also agreed with Greece’s gas
network operator DESFA to use the capacity of a Greek liquefied natural
gas terminal near Athens to import gas.
(from "KATHIMERINI" English edition, 15/07/2009)