BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 25. A total of 12.7 Mwh are the natural gas volumes transported through the IGB gas pipeline since the interconnector’s commercial launch on Oct 1st 2022 up to the end of June 2023, the ICGB, the pipeline operator, told TurkicWorld.

The current capacity of the pipeline connecting the gas transmission systems of Greece and Bulgaria is 3 billion cubic meters per year. 1.57 bcm/y are already booked under long-term contracts lasting up to 25 years. The remaining capacity is successfully being auctioned for different periods on the European platforms PRISMA and RBP. With the recent successful completion of the auctions for annual capacity, 80% of IGB’s total capacity for the next gas year (2023-2024) is already booked.

Recently, the independent transmission system operator ICGB responsible for the pipeline’s operations launched an incremental capacity procedure to explore the market’s interest in increasing the interconnector’s capacity to 5 bcm/y.

"In close cooperation with other system operators in the region and considering the pipeline’s synergy with other projects such as the LNG terminal in Alexandroupolis and the Trans-Balkan Gas Pipeline, IGB is planned to develop further, strengthening its strategic role in the SEE region", said ICGB’s Executive Officers Teodora Georgieva and George Satlas.

The IGB gas pipeline creates an entirely new route through Bulgaria for the transportation of natural gas from new sources to a number of countries, including Moldova and Ukraine.