IGB is crucial for strengthening South East Europe’s internal energy market – Kadri Simson

BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 13. The
Greek-Bulgarian interconnector (IGB) is a Project of Common
Interest, and EU considers this interconnection as a crucial piece
of infrastructure needed to diversify South East Europe and
strengthen the internal energy market, said the EU Commission for
Energy Kadri Simson on behalf of the European Commission on October
13, Trend
reports via the Commission.

She recalled that the Bulgarian and Greek Regulatory Authorities
have certified the operator of the Greece-Bulgaria Gas
Interconnector, ICGB AD, as a transmission system operator (TSO)
for gas, conditional to the project ICGB AD fulfilling some
requirements related to its corporate governance.

“ICGB AD reported to the Commission that it was taking several
measures to finalize the works necessary for the commercial launch
of the IGB. The Commission held regular contacts with the project
company and regulatory authorities as well as the governments of
Bulgaria and Greece throughout the project implementation. It
closely monitored the final steps of project implementation,
including those related to certification. As a result, the IGB has
successfully been launched on 1 October 2022. The Commission has no
evidence that the project implementation has been delayed due to
obstruction, but is aware that there have been delays with
constructing the pipeline and consequentially with receiving some
final approvals required for the pipeline to enter into operation.
Any deliberate obstruction could be considered a crime against the
financial interests of the EU, which could potentially fall within
the European Public Prosecutor’s remit,” noted Simson.

IGB connects Bulgaria with the Southern Gas Corridor and will
enable secure supplies from a variety of sources to several
countries in Southeast and Central Europe, including Moldova and
Ukraine.

The pipeline is set to transport 1 billion cubic meters of
Azerbaijani gas per year to Bulgaria. Its capacity is 3 billion
cubic meters with the possibility of expanding to 5 billion cubic
meters per year.

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