Moldova, Ukraine and Slovakia joined the vertical gas corridor, combining with Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. According to authorities, the move will help Moldova diversify its gas supply sources and reduce its dependence on the Russian company Gazprom, IPN reports.
“The memorandum was joined by the gas grid operators, that is companies managing the gas transmission networks of the respective countries. Accession to this memorandum means diversification of sources and ways of natural gas supply to Central and Southeastern Europe, which leads to reducing dependence on Gazprom,” secretary of state of the Ministry of Energy Constantin Borosan Energy told RFE/RL’s Moldovan Service.
First announced in 2016, the Vertical Corridor will now unite the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline and will allow the transportation of natural gas from Greece to Moldova and underground storage facilities in Ukraine. The pipeline could transport both natural gas from Azerbaijan and liquefied petroleum gas from the Revitus and Alexandroupolis terminals in Greece.
JSC Energocom has already tested how these acquisitions will take place. A first batch of liquefied petroleum gas destined for Moldova will arrive this week at the new floating storage and regasification facility in Alexandroupolis, Greece, and will then be delivered to Moldova.
According to the Ministry of Energy, the vertical corridor concept is not a traditional single gas pipeline project, but is a system connecting national gas networks and other gas infrastructure to ensure gas transit and thus contribute to energy security.
Historically, the Trans-Balkan pipeline transported Russian gas to the Balkans via Ukraine, Moldova and Romania. In 2020, however, Russia directed supplies to the Balkan countries via the Turkish Stream pipeline.
Constantin Borosan noted that through the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline, gas can be transported to satisfy the needs in Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Hungary and Slovakia. This route runs from liquefied petroleum gas terminals in southern Europe, from Greece, to Central European countries and storage facilities in Ukraine.
“The Republic of Moldova actually becomes an energy security provider in the region. Previously, we only requested assistance for Moldova’s energy security, but now we contribute to ensuring this security,” said the official.
According to him, the fact that Moldova is part of this vertical corridor is largely due to the fact that the gas transmission system was taken over by Vestmoldtransgaz, a subsidiary of the Romanian state energy enterprise, which replaced Moldovatransgaz – a daughter company of Moldovagaz controlled by the Russian gas giant Gazprom.
