After several delays for technical reasons, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at the Greek port of Alexandroupolis has begun operations. In Moldova today, October 4, this was called “good news,” as the republic hopes to receive gas through the “new energy gate.”
The terminal is designed to provide supply diversification and energy security for the Balkans and Eastern Europe. In particular, Romania will import gas from Greece through Bulgaria along the so-called “Vertical Corridor”, which Moldova will also join.
“The Alexandroupolis LNG terminal consists, in addition to the FSRU (Floating Storage Regasification Unit, an LNG storage vessel with a regasification unit), of a submarine and onshore gas pipeline connecting the FSRU with the National Transportation System of Natural Gas (NNGTS), through “Gas will be supplied to Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Moldova and Ukraine in the east, as well as Hungary and Slovakia in the west.” — confirmed the operator of the Gastrade terminal.
Previously, due to technical delays, auctions organized on July 1 by Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Ukraine to purchase gas from the Vertical Gas Corridor failed. Capacities were put out to tender at the connection points to which gas should theoretically be transported from Greece.
Recall that at the end of last year the director of the Moldovan state company Energocom Victor Byzar signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Athens with the commercial director of the Greek gas supply company DEPA (one of the shareholders of Gastrade) Konstantinos Xifaras. In the first two days of April this year, Energocom imported the first test volume of liquefied natural gas from the United States through the Greek port of Alexandroupolis.
Minister of Energy of Moldova Victor Parlikov In September, at a panel discussion at the Thessaloniki Summit, he said that in the event that Russian natural gas transit through Ukraine ceases, the “Vertical Corridor” remains a viable technical solution to supply the region, eliminating the risk of a complete blockage. According to him, the republic’s energy system will need two days to redirect transit through the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline from Ukraine to Greece in the opposite direction. The official is confident that during the transition period Moldova will be able to preserve the gas reserves that are currently in the gas pipeline.
As reported EADaily European traders are unhappy with the Moldovan operator because it constantly increases the cost of transit and say they are ready to refuse to work with Chisinau. The Moldovan authorities admit that they cannot afford European gas and are therefore willing to resume large-volume direct purchases from the Russian consortium, “if the price offered by Gazprom is profitable.” Furthermore, Chisinau has already asked for alternative supply routes to be developed for Moldova, bypassing Ukraine.
