Bulgaria eyes to receive additional gas from Azerbaijan

15 March 2019 15:40 (UTC+04:00)

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By Leman Mammadova

Bulgaria is interested in additional gas supplies from Azerbaijan, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov told reporters, Report informs.

Borisov noted that during the meeting with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in Baku, the issue of the construction of an interconnector for connecting to the Trans-Adriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP) for the delivery of 1 billion cubic meters of gas to Bulgaria was discussed.

Bulgaria expects to receive Azerbaijani gas through Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB), a gas pipeline that will be connected to the TAP.

IGB is a gas pipeline which will allow Bulgaria to receive Azerbaijani gas, in particular, the gas produced from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz 2 gas and condensate field. IGB is expected to be connected to TAP, to create an alternative source to Russian gas flowing to Bulgaria. The initial capacity of IGB will be 3 billion cubic meters of gas. The total investment cost for the realization of the IGB interconnector amounts to 240 million euros.

TAP in turn is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor which provides for the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region through Georgia and Turkey to Europe.

Bulgaria through state gas company Bulgargaz EAD has already concluded a contract with the Azerbaijani state-owned company SOCAR for the delivery of 1 billion cubic meters per year from the second phase of Shah Deniz gas field.

Azerbaijani natural gas from Shah Deniz 2, which will be delivered to Bulgaria per year via IGB, will meet about 25-30 percent of the consumption of natural gas in Bulgaria, which is a serious share and will significantly increase Bulgaria’s energy security and promote competition on the Bulgarian gas market. “Bulgargaz EAD” signed 25-year agreement gas purchase in September 2013 within Shah Deniz-2.

In addition, in July 2017, SOCAR and Bulgartransgaz, signed a memorandum of understanding. According to the document, the parties will explore the possibility of additional gas supplies to Bulgaria and through it to other countries of South-Eastern Europe.

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Leman Mammadova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @leman_888