Bulgaria expands capacity of Trans-Balkan Gas Pipeline

On August 3, Bulgartransgaz put into operation new gas transmission capacities in the direction of Turkey, which allows increasing the capacity of the corridor by 1.7 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year.

A new bypass section of 20 kilometers in the south-east of Bulgaria will increase the capacity of the Trans-Balkan pipeline to 15.7 bcm per year from the current 14 bcm and will help ensure the stability of gas supplies.

The Ministry of Energy of Bulgaria notes the gas main will be able to work both in direct and reverse mode.

“We have built a pipeline that will create bypass streams, so we can get gas from Turkey, Azerbaijan and Russia,” Boyko Borisov, Bulgarian Prime Minister, commented.

However, since the beginning of the year, deliveries of Russian gas via the western route through Bulgaria to Turkey have decreased by 15% to 6.7 bcm.