New developments in connecting the Republic of Moldova to European gas supply initiatives. The state-owned company Bulgartransgaz said that it is preparing public procurement of gas through the Vertical Gas Corridor, which will increase the capacity to transport natural gas from Greece to Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, up to Ukraine, IPN reports with reference to Bulgarian sources.

Earlier, IPN informed that Moldova, together with other countries of the region, joined the memorandum on the implementation of the project that will help Moldova diversify its gas supply sources and reduce dependence on the Russian concern Gazprom.

Today, the Bulgarian National Assembly’s decision that obliges the government to give priority to the implementation of this project was published in the Official Gazette in Sofia. It is estimated that the first batch of tendered works will be worth under €300 million and will cover the project of works and the materials and equipment necessary for the investment.

The source cites an earlier statement by Bulgartransgaz CEO Vladimir Malinov that 14 billion cubic meters of natural gas were transported in 2023 through Ukraine from the East to Central European markets - Austria, Italy, Slovakia, the Czech Republic. Volumes were also pumped to the German market and Slovenia. “These quantities need to be replaced and this can be done namely through the Vertical Gas Corridor,” he specified. Moreover, the project is also a matter of solidarity with Ukraine, which gives up the transportation of Russian gas.

“The Vertical Gas Corridor is the only project that can meet both of the objectives – simultaneous supply of alternative quantities to these affected markets (mainly delivering liquefied natural gas) and, secondly, keeping of the Ukrainian gas transmission system alive,” Malinov concluded.