IGB Pipeline

An important step in the expansion of regional energy cooperation was taken today in Thessaloniki with the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by the companies participating in the Vertical Corridor initiative. The participating companies formally welcomed NOMAGAS of North Macedonia and Transportgas Serbia of Serbia to the initiative, further expanding the Vertical Corridor into the Western Balkans.

The signing took place in Thessaloniki, on the sidelines of the 10th Southeast Europe Energy Forum (SEEF), in the presence of the Greek Deputy Minister for the Environment & Energy, Nikos Tsafos, the Bulgarian, Minister of Energy, Iva Petrova, the North Macedonian Minister for Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources, Sanja Božinovska, the Ukrainian Deputy Minister for Recovery, Infrastructure and Transport, Artem Rybchenko, the Serbian Assistant Minister for Energy and Mining, Jovana Joksimović, the Romanian State Secretary of Energy,  Cristian-Silviu Bușoi.

The ceremony was also attended by U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle, U.S. Special Envoy for Energy Joshua Volz, Chargé Affairs of the U.S Εmbassy at North Macedonia Nicole Varnes, the Honorary Consul of Hungary in Thessaloniki, Dimitrios Takas and the Honorary Consul of Slovakia in Thessaloniki, Dimitrios Papastavrou. 

The Vertical Corridor Initiative has entered a new phase with its expansion towards the Western Balkans. Natural gas transmission operators participating in the initiative convened in Athens on Friday, 10 July, for a working session that, for the first time, included the participation of operators from Serbia and North Macedonia, marking an important milestone in the further development of regional energy connectivity.

The meeting brought together eleven transmission system operators from across the region: DESFA, Gastrade, ICGB, Bulgartransgaz, Transgaz, Vestmoldtransgaz, FGSZ, EUSTREAM, GTSOU, NOMAGAS, and Transportgas Srbija. The companies were represented by their Chief Executive Officers and senior management representatives.

The discussions focused on the practical steps required to extend the Vertical Corridor, including the assessment of available system capacities, interconnection points, required infrastructure investments, and implementation timelines. The participants agreed to establish a joint technical and commercial working group, tasked with coordinating the technical evaluation of the expansion and preparing the extension of the existing Memorandum of Understanding, thereby supporting the transition of the initiative from the planning stage towards implementation.

In connection with a launched public procurement procedure with the subject-matter "Maintenance, Delivery of Spare Parts and Repairs of Mechanical - Technological And Electrical Parts Of The IGB Gas Pipeline, Greek Section", ICGB AD invites all stakeholders to submit offers.