Following a number of technical delays, the Bulgaria-Romania gas grid interconnection will start functioning in June, according to Economy and Energy Minister Dragomir Stoynev.
Speaking Wednesday at a conference on natural gas, Stoynev claimed that the delay had been caused by a collapse of the ground below the Danube River, adding that the problem had been dealt with.
He explained that Bulgaria would not be able to receive gas supplies through this pipe because Romania had not yet managed to build a compressor station.
Stoynev, as cited by dnes.bg, underscored the importance of gas grid interconnections for gas supply diversification, adding that Bulgaria was still unprepared for a recurrence of the 2009 gas crisis.
Bulgaria’s Energy Minister informed that there was a lag on the part of Greece in the implementation of the gas grid interconnection scheduled to connect Bulgaria to the gas hub in Baumgarten in Austria.
He reminded that Bulgaria had been granted EU funding for this gas grid interconnection project, adding that Bulgaria had notified the European Commission about the delay.
Stoynev informed that a memorandum for cooperation had been signed recently for the construction of the Bulgaria-Turkey gas grid interconnection, adding that Turkey had given political permission for its completion following a delay of six years.
Stoynev did not disclose details about the parameters of this gas grid interconnection project but explained that the memorandum envisaged the opportunity for groups of technical experts of the two countries to work on the project so that it could be completed by 2016.
He went on to say that Bulgaria was to receive Shah Deniz 2 gas supplies amounting to 1 billion cubic meters via the gas grid interconnection Komotini-Stara Zagora.
Stoynev attributed the delay of the project to the activities of the three countries participating in the project – Bulgaria, Greece and Italy.
He cited LNG terminals as another major option for gas supply diversification, adding that Greece was interested in building a joint terminal in the Aegean Sea from where Bulgaria would receive liquefied natural gas shipments from Qatar.
“Under no circumstances will Turkey allow LNG tankers to pass through the Bosporus,” he commented, adding that as regards LNG supplies from Algeria, all developed gas fields had been sold out and Bulgaria had to make investments in a new gas field to receive LNG shipments from there.
