Bulgaria National Gas Transmission Network

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The Bulgaria National Gas Transmission Network is an operating gas pipeline in Bulgaria. The modernisation and rehabilitation of the network is a priority project of the European Union.

Location

The pipeline runs in a ring within Bulgaria. It connects through Losenets, Ihtiman, Petrich, and Strandja, Bulgaria.

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Project Details

• Operator: Bulgartransgaz
• Owner: Bulgartransgaz
• Parent: Bulgarian Energy Holdings EAD
• Current capacity: 25.2 bcm/year
• Length: 2,765 km / 1,718.1 miles
• Status: Operating
• Start Year:

Background

The national gas transmission network is built in a ring-shaped form of high pressure gas pipelines with a total length of 1,835 km, three compressor stations – CS Kardam-1, CS Valchi Dol and CS Polski Senovets with total installed capacity of 49 MW, cleaning facilities, electrochemical protection system, communications system - copper and optic fibre cables, 240 metering lines to connected users at 115 exit points (AGRS, GMS). Its technical transport capacity amounts to 7.4 bcm/year, and the maximum working pressure is 54 bar.

It also includes the transit gas transmission network, which comprises high pressure gas pipelines of total length of 930 km with prevailing diameter of DN 1000, six compressor stations – CS Kardam-2, CS Provadia, CS Lozenets, CS Strandja, CS Ihtiman and CS Petrich, with total installed capacity of 270 МW, electrochemical protection system, cleaning facilities, communications system, information system and other ancillary facilities. Its total technical capacity for natural gas transit transmission amounts to 17.8 bcm/year and the maximum working pressure is 54 bar.

Expansion Project Details

• Operator: Bulgartransgaz
• Owner: Bulgartransgaz
• Parent: Bulgarian Energy Holdings EAD
• Current capacity:
• Length:
• Diameter: 700 mm
• Cost: €339.59 million (US$387.13 million)
• Financing: Three grants totalling €27,720,503 (US$33 million) from the EU's Connecting Europe Facility
• Status: Construction
• Start Year: 2022
• ENTSOG 2020 TYNDP Code: TRA-F-298

Expansion Background and Financing

The pipeline has been approved for inclusion on the European Commission's Projects of Common Interest list, meaning it can receive public funding from the EU. The European Union's Connecting Europe Facility has awarded two grants for preparatory activities (€520,087 in 2016 and €15,898 in 2017) and a third grant of €27,184,518 in 2019 for construction works.

A final investment decision for the project has been taken. In November 2021, the project was included in the 5th PCI list published by the European Commission in November 2021.

According to the European Commission, "PCI 6.8.2 is a complex/multi-component project comprising various activities for the modernization, rehabilitation and expansion of the existing gas transmission infrastructure on the territory of Bulgaria. Stage 1: Modernization of 4 compressor stations (CS) (CS Lozenets, CS Ihtiman, CS Petrich, CS Strandja) by integration of 6 gas-turbine compressor units (GTCU); Construction of gas pipeline CS Lozenets –Nedyalsko (20 km, 1000 mm); Carrying out inspections and implementation of systems for optimization of the management process of the network technical condition; Stage 2: Second phase of the compressor stations' modernization by integration of 4 gas-turbine compressor units (GTCU) in 3 compressor stations (CS Lozenets, CS Ihtiman, CS Petrich); Large-scale rehabilitation involving replacement of sections of the Northern semi-ring of the gas transmission network of 81 km in total; the rehabilitation/sections’ replacement will impact other regional projects (Interconnection Bulgaria-Serbia (IBS), Chiren expansion project), as well as the use of the Interconnection Bulgaria-Romania (IBR); Carrying out inspections; Stage 3: Conditional infrastructure necessary after taking the final investment decision for realization of Stage 2 of the project Bulgaria Serbia Interconnection (IBS), related to the increase of the interconnector capacity from 1.8 to 2.4 bcm/year. The infrastructure to be built includes: Construction of gas pipeline Gorni Bogrov - Novi Iskar of 19 km approximate length and diameter DN 700 and the construction of the CS Bogrov of 20 MW."