Moldova and Ukraine have joined the Vertical Gas Corridor, which currently includes Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary.
This was reported by the Ministry of Energy, noting that the corresponding memorandum agreement was signed by Vestmoldtransgaz, the operator of the gas system of Moldova, at the Ministerial Meeting on the Connection of Energy Networks of Central and South-Eastern Europe (Central and South Eastern Europe Energy Connectivity, CESEC), in which Energy Minister Victor Parlicov took part. Launched in 2016, the vertical corridor will now be integrated into the Trans-Balkan Gas Pipeline and will allow natural gas to be transported from Greece to Moldova and to underground storage facilities in Ukraine. The pipeline will be able to transport both pipeline gas from Azerbaijan and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Greek terminals Revitus and Alexandroupolis. The first cargo of LNG destined for Moldova will arrive at the new floating storage and regasification facility in Alexandroupolis (Greece) next week as a test purchase from Energocom. Then it will be delivered to Moldova. As noted by the Ministry of Energy, the vertical corridor is not a traditional single gas pipeline project, but a system that connects existing national gas networks and other gas infrastructure to ensure gas transit and thus contribute to energy security. At today's meeting of the Central and South Eastern Europe Energy Connectivity in Athens, gas system operators from member countries also signed a memorandum to expand the capacity of the Trans-Balkan Gas Pipeline and reverse operation of all three gas pipelines, and not just one, as now. Although the capacity of the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline from north to south is 27 billion cubic meters/year, currently only 5 billion cubic meters/year are available on the Romanian-Bulgarian border, and in the Romanian-Ukrainian - 4 billion cubic meters/year. The Trans-Balkan Gas Pipeline historically carried Russian gas to the Balkans via Ukraine, Moldova and Romania, but after Russia redirected gas exports to the Balkans via TurkStream 1 and 2 in 2020, it remains unused. Also today, it was decided to include in the CESEC action plan strategic energy infrastructure projects for Moldova - the 400 kV Vulcanesti-Chisinau power line and the Balti-Suceava power line. CESEC also called for the unification of day-ahead and intraday markets and the creation of a single electricity market between the relevant Energy Community member countries. // 19.01.2024 - InfoMarket.
