Line pipe supplier selected for Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria

Corinth Pipeworks Industry S.A. meets the set requirements; the selection of line pipe supplier is one of the final key steps before the start of construction of the IGB project

The project company ICGB AD finalized the public procurement for the line pipes manufacture and supply for construction of the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria.

The public procurement was announced at the end of 2017 and was conducted as a restricted procedure in two phases – preliminary selection and submission of offers. In the first phase of the procedure 11 candidates submitted requests for participation, three of which were admitted for participation in the second phase – Erciyas Celik Boru Sanayi A.S., Toplivo -2 EOOD and Corinth Pipeworks Industry S.A.

All three candidates submitted offers in the second phase of the procedure. After a detailed technical evaluation, including on-site visits at each of the participants’ factories, it was found that the technical proposal of the participant Corinth Pipeworks Industry S.A. fully complies with the technical specification, including demonstration of advantages that significantly enhance the minimum requirements of the Contracting Entity.

The Executive Officers of ICGB are satisfied with the successful finalization of the public procurement and pointed out that the completion of the procedure is one of the most important and final steps before the start of the IGB construction.

In the course of the procedure, the participant Erciyas Celik Boru Sanayi A.S informed the Contracting Entity that it can not extend the validity of its offer, which is a basis for exclusion from further participation. The other participant Toplivo -2 EOOD has submitted a technical proposal which does not fully meet the requirements of the technical specification and therefore it was decided not to be admitted to technical evaluation.

The line pipe supply procedure is one of the two most important public procurements that secure the start of the construction of the Greece-Bulgaria gas interconnector. The contract will be executed for a period of twelve months, as the first deliveries will be realized within four months of starting the contract. Extremely high manufacture performance criteria, including pipe quality assurance measures, are in place to ensure that the gas pipeline meets the highest safety standards and good engineering practices. The supply is for the whole route of the pipeline, both on the territory of Bulgaria and Greece. The contract value is EUR 58,229,759.16, which represents the total fixed price of the supply.

In compliance with the Public Procurement Act requirements (PPA) the Contracting Entity has published on its website in the Buyer’s profile section the Award Decision together with detailed description of the whole process of conducting the procedure and arguments for the decisions taken.

The project company thanks all the participants for the interest expressed in the procedure and the competition created and is confident that for the implementation of the line pipes supply was selected a proposal that gives the most optimal ratio between quality and price.

The IGB Project (Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria) is being implemented by the joint venture company ICGB AD, registered in Bulgaria in 2011, with shareholders BEH EAD (50%) and IGI Poseidon (50%). The co-shareholder IGI Poseidon is a company, registered in Greece, with shareholders being the Greek public gas corporation DEPA SA (50%) and the Italian energy group Edison SpA (50%).

In accordance with its Statute, ICGB AD will be the owner of the IGB gas pipeline and will finance its realization, will allocate its capacity and will receive the revenue from the transportation of natural gas. 

The IGB gas pipeline will be connected with the Greek national gas transmission system in the area of Komotini and with the Bulgarian national gas transmission system in the area of Stara Zagora. The planned length of the pipeline is 182 km, the pipeline diameter will be 32” and the projected capacity will be up to 3 bcm/y in the direction from Greece to Bulgaria.

Depending on the interest from the market and the capacities of the neighboring gas transmission systems, the pipeline is designed for increasing its capacity up to 5 bcm/y for following up the market evolution thus allowing physical reverse flow (from Bulgaria to Greece) with the additional installation of a compressor station. A Memorandum for cooperation between ICGB AD and TAP AG has been signed concerning joint actions in relation to future connection between the IGB pipeline and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline.