UPDATE 2-Bulgaria to join ITGI pipeline to import Azeri gas
* To build pipeline to Greece to import 1 bmc Azeri gas
* Will ease dependence on Russian gas from 2012
* Greece, Romania to promote regional gas links
(Adds BEH executive, Greece-Romania agreement)
SOFIA, July 14 (Reuters) - State-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) signed an agreement on Tuesday with two major western gas companies that will see it import Azeri gas through a new pipeline, reducing its dependence on Russian supplies.
The deal with Greek natural gas monopoly DEPA and Italian Edison SpA (EDN.MI) will allow Bulgaria, the country worst hit by a cut in Russian gas supplies in January, to import 1 billion cubic metres (bcm) of Azeri gas per year from 2012 through the ITGI pipeline, BEH said
"In this way we create a real way for diversification of supplies," Galina Tosheva, chief executive of state-owned BEH, said. The pipeline is due to carry 8 bcm of Caspian gas per year to southern Italy via Turkey and Greece.
BEH, which runs all big Bulgarian state energy companies, also signed a deal with Greece's gas grid operator DESFA to use the LNG terminal near Athens and import 1 bcm of gas per year.
The pipeline to link Bulgaria's gas network to ITGI will cost 120 million euros ($168 million), some 45 million euros of which will be provided by the European Union, BEH said.
"We expect to complete engineering activities by the middle of 2010 and the pipeline will be ready for commercial operation by the end of 2012, the beginning of 2013," said Roberto Poti, director of international projects at Edison.
DEPA and Edison are building the Greek-Italian section of the ITGI pipeline.
Edison chief executive Umberto Quadrino told reporters in Italy on Tuesday that the first gas supplies to Bulgaria from the planned extension to ITGI would come in 2015.
In January, Bulgaria reached an agreement with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev to import 1 bcm of Azeri gas per year after 2010 as part of its efforts to diversify supplies -- the Black Sea nation gets almost all its gas from Russia.
The gas dispute between Russia and transit country Ukraine in January cut off supplies to Europe, left thousands of Bulgarians without heating in the depths of the winter and forced dozens of factories to shut down.
The poorest EU nation, Bulgaria and a number of other fellow ex-communist east European states are almost totally dependent on Russian gas and have no access to alternative import routes.
The gas crisis exposed eastern Europe's vulnerability and the urgent need to tackle long-neglected problems, such as the lack of links between countries' gas networks.
Greek Development Minister Costis Hatzidakis and Romanian Economy Minister Adriean Videanu agreed in Bucharest on Tuesday to promote and coordinate gas connections between Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece.
"We want to treat the Greek-Bulgarian, Bulgarian-Romanian and Romanian-Hungarian pipelines as a single whole, as a single pipeline. Especially since all three separate pipelines are financed by the European Union," Hatzidakis said.
Earlier this year, Bulgaria and Romania agreed to build a link between their gas networks but construction work is yet to begin. For a factbox on major pipelines in the region [ID:nnLE022229] (Additional reporting by Harry Papachristou in Athens and Alberto Sisto in Rome; Writing by Anna Mudeva; Editing by Dan Lalor)
