Moldova, Ukraine join vertical gas transportation corridor

Chisinau, 19 January /MOLDPRES/ - Moldova and Ukraine today joined the vertical gas transportation corridor, which presently includes Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary.   

According to the Energy Ministry, a memorandum of understanding to this effect was signed by Vestmoldtransgaz, the system operator of natural gas from Moldova, at the meeting of the Central and South Eastern Europe energy connectivity (CESEC), in which Energy Minister Victor Parlicov participates.  

„Launched in 2016, the vertical corridor will integrate now the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline and will allow the transportation of natural gas from Greece to Moldova and the underground storehouses from Ukraine. The gas pipeline will be able to carry both pipeline gas from Azerbaijan and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from the terminals Revythoussa and Alexandroupoli,’’ the minister noted.   

Thus, a first consignment of LNG meant for Moldova will reach the new Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) from Alexandroupoli, Greece, next week, representing a test procurement made by the Energocom Company. Subsequently, it will be transported to Moldova. ‘’The vertical corridor is not a traditional project of single pipe, but a system which connects the existing national gas networks and other gas infrastructures, in order to ensure the transit of gas and to thus contribute to the energy security,’’ the Energy Ministry said.    

Also, at the CESEC meeting, held in Athens today, the gas system operators from the member countries signed also a memorandum on the extension of the capacity of the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline and the reverse work of all those three pipelines, not only of one of them, as it is at present. Although the Trans-Balkan pipeline has a north-south capacity of 27 billion cubic metres per year, presently, there are available only 5 billion cubic metres per year at the Romanian-Bulgarian border 4 billion cubic metres at the Romanian-Ukrainian border. The Trans-Balkan gas pipeline transported, in history, Russian gas to the Balkans via Ukraine, Moldova and Romania; yet, it remained inactive, after Russia had directed, in 2020, its exports of gas to Balkans through the TurkStream 1 and 2 lines.  

Also today, a decision was taken to include in the CESEC action plan the strategic energy infrastructure projects for Moldova – Overhead Power Line (OPL) of 400 kV Vulcanesti-Chisinau and  OPL Balti-Suceava. At the same time, CESEC encouraged the coupling of the markets for the next days and intra-day and the creation of a single market of electric energy between the relevant member states of the Energy Community.