Bulgaria will be able to get up to 0.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas
annually via the interconnector with Romania, using only a third of its planned
capacity, Bulgaria's deputy economy minister said on Thursday.
Romania
has failed to build a compression station near the capital Bucharest as planned,
thwarting Bulgaria's plans to receive up to 1.5 bcm annually through the link,
Ivan Ayolov said, as quoted by a press officer of the ministry.
The
reverse flow gas link under the Danube will connect the southern Romanian
village of Comasca with Marten, in northern Bulgaria. The project will be
implemented jointly by Romania's Transgaz and Bulgaria’s gas transmission system
operator Bulgartransgaz.
It envisages the construction of a 15 kilometre
pipeline in Bulgaria, another 7.5 kilometres (km) in Romania and a 2.5 km
underwater section.
In January Bulgartransgaz said that the
interconnector is expected to be completed and go into operation by the end of
March.