Bulgaria committed to further strengthening partnership within Southern Gas Corridor — minister

BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 3. Bulgaria remains
committed to further strengthening partnership within the Southern
Gas Corridor framework, Bulgarian Energy Minister Traycho Traykov
said at the 12th Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor
Advisory Council and the 4th Ministerial Meeting of the Green
Energy Advisory Council in Baku, Trend reports.

“The commissioning of the Greece–Bulgaria Gas Interconnector has
effectively made Bulgaria an integral part of the strategic
infrastructure of the Southern Gas Corridor. The corridor has
already proven its important role in strengthening energy security
for European countries, as well as in diversifying sources and
routes. Bulgaria is consistently pursuing a policy aimed at
developing its gas infrastructure. In this regard, we once again
reaffirm our commitment to further strengthening partnership within
the Southern Gas Corridor,” he said.

Traykov pointed out that the current challenges in the energy
sector require robust cooperation mechanisms such as the reliable
partnerships formed within the Southern Gas Corridor, and this
cooperation is already extending to the initiatives on green energy
corridors and zones.

“Bulgaria has supported the Green Energy Corridor project from
the very beginning,” he said.

The Southern Gas Corridor, which delivers gas to Türkiye and
Europe, consists of the following 4 elements:

- Second stage of development of Shah Deniz

- Expansion of the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCPX);

- Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline;

- Trans-Adriatic Pipeline.

To date, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline, the European segment of
the Southern Gas Corridor has delivered 56 bcm of gas. Moreover, in
January of this year, TAP underwent its first expansion by 1.2 bcm
per year, to provide additional supplies to the European market as
early as 2026.

The IGB gas pipeline connects with the Greek national gas
transmission system (DESFA S.A.) and the Trans-Adriatic gas
pipeline (TAP AG) in the area of Komotini (Greece), and with the
Bulgarian gas transmission system (Bulgartransgaz EAD) in the area
of Stara Zagora.

The total length of the gas pipeline is 182 km, the diameter of
the pipe - 32'' - and a design capacity of up to 3 billion m3/year
in the direction Greece - Bulgaria. Depending on the market
interest for larger capacity and the possibilities of the
neighboring gas transmission systems, the capacity of IGB is
designed with the option for increase up to 5 billion m3/year.