The President of Azerbaijan attended the opening ceremony of the Greece-Bulgaria Gas Interconnector in Sofia - UPDATE-2

The President of Azerbaijan attended the opening ceremony of the Greece-Bulgaria Gas Interconnector in Sofia - UPDATE-2 - PHOTO

On October 1, the opening ceremony of the Greece-Bulgaria Gas Interconnector (IGB) was held in Sofia, the capital of the Republic of Bulgaria.

APA reports that the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev participated in the ceremony.

The President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev welcomed the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the heads of state and government of other countries.

A video about the technical indicators of the Greece-Bulgaria Gas Interconnector and the importance of the project was shown.

Then there were performances.

The head of our state spoke at the ceremony.

Speech of President Ilham Aliyev

- Thank you very much for the presentation.

Dear President of Bulgaria Radev.

Dear President of the European Commission Mrs. Ursula von der Leyen.

Dear Presidents and Prime Ministers.

Ladies and gentleman.

First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to Bulgarian President Radev for the invitation to participate in this historic ceremony.

The Greece-Bulgaria Gas Interconnector project will play an important role in strengthening Europe's energy security and diversifying gas supply.

Energy security is a part of national security of every country.

The current geopolitical situation in the world proves this once again.

For almost two years, Azerbaijani gas has been exported to European markets, and now it is entering Bulgaria.

The Southern Gas Corridor, which has changed the energy map of Europe, is one of the largest infrastructure projects on the continent.

Azerbaijan is proud to be the initiator of the Southern Gas Corridor.

The Southern Gas Corridor transports gas to consumers through a new route, including from a new source.

Until now, the only source has been the "Shahdeniz" gas field located in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea.

However, production in several other gas fields of Azerbaijan will start soon and will contribute to increasing supply volumes.

For many years, Azerbaijan has been a reliable supplier of oil in the international market and, first of all, in the European market.

And now it is becoming a reliable gas supplier.

Regarding what Madam President said about renewable energy, I would like to state that this is also a part of the Memorandum of Understanding on strategic partnership in the field of Energy, which we signed in July between the European Commission and Azerbaijan.

So, I am sure that Azerbaijan will soon become a reliable supplier of electricity for Europe.

In the field of wind energy, the volume of our approved potential in the Caspian Sea alone is 157 gigawatts.

We are currently discussing with our European partners about the delivery of this energy to the European continent.

Last year, our gas export was about 19 billion cubic meters.

8.2 billion cubic meters of it were transported to Europe.

This means a 40 percent increase compared to the previous year.

This year, we will increase our export to 22 billion cubic meters, and 11.5 billion cubic meters of it will be delivered to European consumers.

As I have already said, in July of this year we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the European Commission during the visit of Mrs. President Ursula von der Leyen to Azerbaijan.

This is a very comprehensive document, according to which we plan to at least double the supply of natural gas by 2027, and we have full potential to do so.

We have already started consultations with our partners regarding the expansion of TANAP from 16 billion cubic meters to 32 billion cubic meters, and TAP from 10 billion cubic meters to 20 billion cubic meters.

Because without it, it will be difficult to provide additional supply.

In conclusion, I would like to congratulate the people of Bulgaria, Greece and all of us on this historic ceremony, the completion of such an important project, and I wish the Greece-Bulgaria Gas Interconnector a long and successful operation.

Thank you.

XXX

After the speeches, a commemorative photo was taken.

XXX

It should be noted that the total length of the Greece-Bulgaria Gas Interconnector (IGB) is 182 kilometers, connecting the gas transmission networks of Bulgaria and Greece.

The project is implemented by the Bulgarian-Greek investment company "ICGB AD", registered in Bulgaria in 2011, together with the shareholders of Energy Holding of Bulgaria and IGI Poseidon of Greece, each of which has a 50 percent stake.

The total cost of the interconnector is more than 240 million euros.

In 2010, the European Commission allocated a grant of 45 million euros for feasibility studies and another payment of 35 million euros within the framework of the program implemented by Bulgaria.

The European Investment Bank provided a loan of 110 million euros.

It should be noted that IGB will deliver natural gas produced from Azerbaijan's "Shahdeniz-2" field to Bulgaria.

For this purpose, the Bulgarian state company "Bulgargaz EAD" has signed an agreement with the "Shahdeniz" consortium.

The annual transmission capacity of the pipeline will be 3 billion cubic meters.

In perspective, this indicator can be increased to 5 billion cubic meters per year.

Thus, Azerbaijan's natural gas will meet 25-30 percent of Bulgaria's demand.

It should also be noted that the transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe began at the end of 2020 with the commissioning of the last segment of the Southern Gas Corridor - TAP.

Currently, Turkey, Georgia, Greece, Bulgaria, Albania and Italy are buyers of Azerbaijani gas.

As it can be seen, the demand for Azerbaijani gas is increasing in the face of new challenges.

***

14.10