Bulgaria-Greece Gas Link Deal 'Coming Early in July'

The agreement to set up an interconnector between Bulgaria and Greece is to be signed early in the coming weeks, Greek local media quote unnamed energy officials as saying.

This goes in line with comments Greek Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis made for RIA Novosti agency earlier this week. Lafazanis said last Friday that July 2 is a likely date for the document, after the initial one, June 12, was abandoned.

Out of the EUR 99 M the Interconnector Greece Bulgaria (IGB) is expected to cost, some EUR 45 M will be secured through EU funding.

The gas carried by the pipes could come from Azerbaijan (the so-called Southern Corridor), though Greek PM Alexis Tsipras and his government are also pinning their hopes on the "Turkish Stream" pipeline which was announced as a substitute to South Stream last year.

For Bulgaria, the IGB will also be an important link in the "Vertical Gas Corridor", a project which will connect its gas grid with those of Romania and Greece.

The Southeastern European nation, on the other hand, has sought for years to diversify gas supplies and also to boost energy flow with neighbors through connecting grids with Serbia, Romania, Turkey, and Greece.

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