Greece Clears IGB Construction

The Greek Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) has approved the construction of the Greek section of the Greece-Bulgaria Interconnector (IGB), the project’s operator ICGB said on July 19.

According to ICGB, the venture has secured a licence for independent natural gas system (INGS), permitting building work on the pipeline and its auxiliary facilities to begin.

“The obtaining of this licence represents tremendous progress as it is the final step towards securing the regulatory regime of the IGB project and ensuring successful start of the construction of the pipeline on the territory of the Hellenic Republic,” the company said in a statement.

The 182-km IGB gas link is due online in 2020 and is expected to transport up to 3bn m³/yr to Bulgaria mainly from Greek LNG terminals and the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) network.  ICGB is a 50:50 joint venture between Bulgaria’s state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) and IGI Poseidon, which in turn is 50% owned by Greece’s government-run Depa and 50% by Italy’s Edison, a division of French giant EDF.

ICGB recently extended a deadline for bids to provide insurance cover for the project until July 24.