The first trial supply of Azerbaijani gas across the Gas Interconnector Greece – Bulgaria, also known as Stara Zagora-Komotini interconnector (IGB) from Greece to Bulgaria, has begun.

Huseyn Huseynov, the Azerbaijani ambassador to Bulgaria, said that through the Komotini-Stara Zagora interconnector (IGB), a test transport of Azerbaijani gas from Greece to Bulgaria has begun. According to Huseynov, a trial delivery of natural gas from that country is anticipated to arrive by the end of June. The supply of the agreed-upon volumes would begin on July 1.

Earlier, Bulgarian Energy Minister Alexander Nikolov said that the Greece-Bulgaria Interconnector (IGB), which provides for the transportation of Azerbaijani gas to the Bulgarian market, will play a key role in achieving Sofia's goals of diversifying energy sources and ensuring its energy security. According to him, this interconnector is "a key project for the energy security of Bulgaria and the entire region of South-Eastern Europe." "Despite a serious delay in the implementation of the interconnector project, the (Bulgarian) government has taken active steps in recent months to put the gas pipeline into operation, which will make it possible to supply gas from different regions through it. Today, the gas pipeline project is at the final stage of implementation. Hydrotesting of the entire pipeline has been completed. It has been connected to the Trans-Adriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP), and the construction of a dispatch center in Haskovo has been finished," Nikolov said.

In March, Caucasus Watch reported that the Greek-Bulgarian Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) joined the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which will transport natural gas from Azerbaijan to Bulgaria. "Once the IGB is launched, this connection will initially supply Bulgaria with 1 billion cubic meters of gas per year, and in the next stage, this volume will increase to 3 billion cubic meters, which corresponds to the current capacity of the interconnector," the operator said.

It is important to note that Bulgaria is one of the most dependent countries on Russian energy resources in the EU. Before the conflict in Ukraine, more than 90 percent of the eastern European country's gas supplies came from Russia.

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