Greek media and energy sector figures have raised sharp criticism over the way the Greece-Bulgaria gas interconnector (IGB) is being operated, claiming it harms Greece’s national interests, BGNES reported. Prominent businessman Giannis Vardinogiannis, head of Motor Oil, argued during a public session of the Greek energy regulator (RAAEY) that the ICGB pipeline is effectively serving only Bulgaria’s needs, with no benefit to Greek consumers.

Vardinogiannis focused his criticism on the lack of a reverse flow option, which means gas can flow from Greece to Bulgaria, but not the other way around. As a result, if Greek companies want to access gas coming from Bulgaria, they are forced to use the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and incur additional fees. This arrangement, he noted, places Greek consumers at a disadvantage and renders the pipeline commercially inefficient for Greek market participants.

At the Komotini junction, where the IGB connects to the Greek gas grid, there is currently no operational entry point into Greece. This technical limitation significantly reduces the pipeline’s commercial potential on the Greek side. Although the IGB has a design capacity of 106 gigawatt-hours per day, it operates at just a third of that—around 35 - highlighting a severe underutilization of the infrastructure.

Copelouzos Group’s Gastrade, another player in the Greek energy market, echoed Motor Oil’s concerns. The company also emphasized the importance of enabling reverse flow to unlock the full potential of the interconnector for both countries.

Greek media outlet pronews pointed out that the current problem is rooted in Greece’s earlier decision to not join the TurkStream pipeline project. That decision closed the door on direct access to cheaper Russian gas. As a result, Greece now continues to rely heavily on Russian gas, but at a higher price and through indirect routes involving intermediaries. Despite public statements about reducing dependency on Russian energy, reality suggests otherwise: officially, over half of Greece’s natural gas imports are still of Russian origin. Unofficially, that number may be closer to 80%, due to the routing of supplies through Bulgaria and even Azerbaijan.

The IGB pipeline itself is owned and operated by the joint company ICGB Ltd., established in Bulgaria in 2011. The company is evenly split between Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) and the Greek-Italian consortium IGI Poseidon. IGI Poseidon is jointly owned by DEPA International Projects of Greece and Italy’s Edison S.p.A. The pipeline stretches 182 kilometers from Komotini in Greece to Stara Zagora in Bulgaria, with a diameter of 32 inches and a design capacity of up to 3 billion cubic meters per year, with future scalability to 5 billion if a compressor station is added.

As for TurkStream, it remains the only active Russian gas delivery route into Europe after supplies through Ukraine were halted. With a capacity of 31.5 billion cubic meters annually, TurkStream provides gas to Turkey and much of Southern and Southeastern Europe. It originates from Russia’s Russkaya compressor station near the Black Sea port of Anapa.