Greece-Bulgaria Line Lags Timetable: Update

(Adds comment on delay from IGB, corrects sourcing)

The completion of the Interconnector Greece Bulgaria (IGB), which in May 2020 was expected later that year, will be a year late, the pipeline operator said February 11.

The contractual deadline was April 28, 2021 but the Greek contractor Avax has requested a delay, giving an indicative date of year end. "The request from the contractor is yet to be discussed by the shareholders of the project company. Meanwhile, with the support of the national governments of the two countries, all parties involved continue to work on ways to optimise the activities so that the pipeline is successfully implemented as soon as possible, while holding the health and safety of all employees on site a top priority," IGB told NGW February 12. 

IGB is part of the Southern Gas Corridor, a US and European Union-backed plan to reduce Russia's share of the European gas market, bringing in competition with gas from Azerbaijan. Other elements are the TransAdriatic Pipeline (TAP), the TransAnatolian Pipeline (Tanap) and the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCPX) which crosses Georgia.

IGB is a 50:50 joint venture between Bulgaria's state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding 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. 

The interconnector is part of the Vertical Gas Corridor (Greece-Bulgaria-Romania-Hungary), providing access to natural gas from the Southern Gas Corridor and LNG to southeast and central Europe as well as Ukraine.