New era as Greece-Bulgaria gas pipeline starts pumping

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday hailed a “new era” as a long-awaited pipeline began pumping gas, amid the EU’s efforts to wean itself off Russian energy.

The Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB), a 182-kilometre (113-mile) trans-boundary pipeline was designed to help Bulgaria, which has for years been heavily dependent on Russian gas, obtain energy from other sources.

It officially opened in July, but did not start operations until Saturday.

“Today a new era for Bulgaria and southeast Europe begins,” von der Leyen said during a ceremony in Sofia.

“Bulgaria used to receive 80 percent of its gas from Russia. That was before Russia decided to launch an atrocious war against Ukraine and an energy war against Europe,” she said.

“This pipeline is a game changer. It’s a game changer for Bulgaria and for Europe’s energy security.”

The IGB pipeline enables Bulgaria to link up, via Greece, to the TANAP/TAP pipeline designed to supply western Europe with gas from Azerbaijan’s giant Shah Deniz gas field in the Caspian Sea.

Sofia is due to receive one billion cubic metres of gas through the pipeline.

“It means freedom from the dependency on Russian gas. Indeed, the interconnector could cover the entire gas consumption of Bulgaria. And this is really great news in very difficult times,” von der Leyen said.

“But thanks to projects like this, Europe will have enough gas for the winter.”

Linking Komotini in Greece to Stara Zagora in Bulgaria, the IGB pipeline was initially conceived in 2009 but construction did not begin until 2019.

It will also pipe gas from other sources, particularly from Algeria and Qatar via the existing LNG terminal in Revithousa, west of Athens and the planned terminal in Alexandroupolis, northeastern Greece.

Bulgaria ended deliveries from Russian giant Gazprom in April, weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine.

The European Union, which relied heavily on Russian gas and oil before the war in Ukraine, has been scrambling to find alternative energy sources.