Gazprom has not made transmission capacity reservations on the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline for January 2025. Capacity reservations were made by international traders in the region, the Ministry of Energy said in a press release, quoted by IPN.
According to the quoted source, on the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline, at the tender contest held on December 16, at the border between Turkey and Bulgaria (Malkoclar/Strandzha 2) a transmission capacity of 2.55 million m3/day was reserved and the capacity of 3.58 million m3/day remained available.
Likewise, reservations were made at the border between Bulgaria and Romania (Kardam/Negru Vodă I). It goes to a transport capacity of 0.9 million m3/day. The capacity of 8.77 million m3/day remained available.
At the border between Romania and Moldova (Ungheni/Ungheni), a transport capacity of 4.45 million m3/day has been reserved. A capacity of 1.65 million m3/day remained available.
At the border between Romania and Ukraine (Isaccea 1/Orlovka), no transport capacities were reserved, with the capacity of 10.35 million m3/day remaining available.
By the end of December 2024, Gazprom's natural gas deliveries to the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova amount to 5.7 million m3/day.
The daily consumption of natural gas on the left bank of the Nistru, including at MGRES (Kuchurgan power plant) for electricity production, without applying consumption efficiency measures, is estimated at 3.7 million m3/day, said the Ministry of Energy.
The daily consumption of the left bank in January, if MGRES operates on coal, with the minimization of the industry’s activity and with the application of measures to reduce consumption, is estimated at 2.3 to 2.7 million m3/day.
The next tender contests for the reservation of transmission capacity for January will take place daily starting December 31, throughout January.
Gazprom has the obligation to deliver natural gas to the Republic of Moldova by September 30, 2026. In case the gas transit deal between Russia and Ukraine is not extended on January 1, 2015, Gazprom said it will deliver gas to the Transnistrian region if Moldova pays its debt, which is yet inexistent according to an audit carried out on the initiative of Chisinau, but the results of which are not recognized by the Russian side.
In the event that Gazprom completely interrupts deliveries from January 1, the Kuchurgan power plant said that it has coal supplies that are enough to ensure the production of electricity needed only by the Transnistrian region, for a limited period of time and with significant risks to grid stability.
