06.03.2020
We are making a very good investment so that Bulgaria plays a key role in the gas distribution and transportation of natural gas in Europe for decades to come, said Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, who inspected the Balkan Stream being built on the territory of our country.
The Prime Minister inspected the progress along the route in the region of the Rasovo compressor station. Borissov said that the capacity of the Balkan Stream could be increased by up to 20 billion cubic meters with this compressor station as well as with the Nova Provadia CS. The Prime Minister indicated that the Balkan Stream will diversify gas throughout the route, not only for Bulgaria but also for Serbia, Hungary and Austria. The Prime Minister also noted that the compressors are the best possible ones and that they allow any gas of different origin to flow through the Bulgarian gas highways. The Prime Minister added that the expansion of the Chiren gas storage facility is also beginning. Darina Koleva, a site engineer, reported on the construction stage of the compressor station. "The construction is going very well. Time is good to us, we're good," noted the construction workers.
The Balkan Stream project is part of the concept for the Balkan Gas Hub, which aims to reinforce Bulgaria's role as a leading commercial distribution center in the region and the European Union.
To date, a total of 19,947 pipes or 239.36 km have been delivered to the temporary construction facilities. At the Burgas port, another 6250 pipes or 75 km have been delivered, which are beginning to be transported to the temporary facilities. Field work is done in the districts of Veliko Turnovo, Pleven, Lovech and Vratsa. The total cleaned humus from the gas pipeline easement is 162.6 km, the pipelines along the route are 139.05 km, 113.45 km of which are welded.
For the overall implementation of the project for the expansion of the gas transmission infrastructure of Bulgartransgaz EAD from the Bulgarian-Turkish to the Bulgarian-Serbian border, two compressor stations will be constructed - the Rasovo CS and the Nova Provadia CS, which will serve to increase the pressure on the the Balkan Stream route. The three compressor units in the Rasovo CS and the four compressor units in the Nova Provadia CS will be the latest generation, produced by the US company Solar Turbines, which is the industry leader. The units will be equipped with low emission combustion chambers complying with the environmental legislation for combustion plants, ensuring compliance with the permissible emission standards for harmful pollutants in the atmosphere.
