Bulgaria expects to start natural gas imports from Azerbaijan in January 2021

Sofia, November 17- Neftegaz.RU. Bulgaria expects to start natural gas imports from Azerbaijan on January 1, 2021 through the gas link with Greece which is currently under construction, Bulgarian prime minister Boyko Borissov said on November 16, the local SeeNews reported.

Currently, 159 kilometres of line pipes have been delivered, of which 72 km have already been welded, Borissov said in a press release.

The project company developing the Greece-Bulgaria gas link - ICGB, signed earlier a memorandum for cooperation with the project company operating the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project, which will carry natural gas to Europe from the Shah Deniz II field in Azerbaijan via Greece, Albania and Italy.

The IGB pipeline, which has a total estimated cost of 220 million euro ($256.5 million), will connect the Greek gas transmission system in the area of Komotini to the Bulgarian gas transmission system in the area of Stara Zagora. The projected capacity will be to 3 billion cu m per year in the direction from Greece to Bulgaria, which can subsequently be increased to 5 billion cu m.

The planned length of the pipeline is 182 km, most of which will be laid on Bulgarian territory. The Trans Adriatic Pipeline has started commercial operations, the consortium implementing the gas transmission project said on Sunday.