Moldova started physical import of natural gas in reverse mode through the Trans-Balkan Interconnector.
This was reported by foreign media. This information was confirmed to journalists in Moldova by Victor Binzari, the interim director general of the state company Energocom. According to him, a small volume of gas has been imported so far. "We have imported gas in order to check the transportation route and see how the gas will be transported", Victor Binzari noted. He said that this is a concrete step towards the diversification of gas transportation routes, in the context of Gazprom's threats to cut gas supplies to Moldova. Alternative gas supplies are carried out through the Trans-Balkan corridor, point Causeni on the border between Ukraine and Moldova, as well as Iasi-Ungheni point on the Iasi-Chisinau pipeline. According to icis.com, Moldova started physically importing natural gas in reverse mode through the Trans-Balkan interconnector, and volumes delivered through the Greece-Bulgaria interconnector (IGB) were physically sent north to Moldova through the Trans-Balkan line via Romania and Ukraine. A total of 4.3 million cubic meters of gas were delivered to the Causeni point on the Ukraine-Moldova border on December 1, according to nomination data published by the operator of the gas transmission system of Ukraine (GTSU). Once the volumes enter Moldova through the Causeni point in the south, they can be deducted from the volumes entering Moldova from Ukraine through the Grebinnyky border point in the north. The former general director of the GTSU, Sergiy Makogon, who 6 years ago first promoted the idea of a physical reverse through the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline, welcomed the news. "It took almost 6 years to unblock the network in the region and start physical gas supplies from alternative directions," he said. Until last year, Moldova was completely dependent on Russian gas imported from the north to the south through Ukraine. But after Gazprom's decision to limit supplies last winter and cut supplies by 30 percent starting in October 2022, the country began exploring alternative supply routes, including reverse flows through the Trans-Balkan corridor, which historically worked in a north-south direction, bringing Russian gas to the Balkans and Turkey. Since Russia's Gazprom decided to reroute supplies through the new Turkish Stream corridor, the Trans-Balkan corridor has been idle. One aware source said the latest developments are of strategic importance to Moldova because gas will no longer be physically transported through Transnistria, a separatist region that is not internationally recognized but is under Russian control. // 02.12.2022 – InfoMarket
