Transgaz will build a new transport infrastructure so that the Romanian gas will reach over the Prut. The project is considered “of national importance” by the authorities in Bucharest, and once realized it would allow Moldavians across the Prut to use gas from what will be extracted from the Black Sea. The total cost of Transgaz’ project is 131,7 million euros and involves the construction of two new gas pipelines in the north-east of the country and two compressing stations.
“Developing the capacity of the National Transport System in order to ensure the flow of natural gas on the direction Romania-Republic of Moldova” is “a project of national importance in the field of natural gas”, according to a draft Government Decision.
This project will be handled by the Ministry of Energy, according to the draft normative act, signed by the Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu.
Romania has inaugurated the interconnector Iasi-Ungheni since the summer of 2014 with a maximum transit capacity of 1,5 billion cubic meters of gas per year. However, the exports are insignificant and last year they were close to zero – worth just 226.000 euros, according to the National Institute of Statistics in Bucharest.
The reasons, say the specialists, concern both the technical difficulties and the fact that the Moldavians have not completed the infrastructure between the borders and the Chisinau capital, and the small amount of imported Romanian gas was consumed only in the localities of the border.
“Given the configuration of the two National Transport Systems and their technical characteristics, the possibilities of a bi-directional flux of natural gas transport between Romania and the Republic of Moldova are limited because: 1) The Moldavian gas transport system is based on pipes with rather small diameters (DN100-DN250) which are operated at high pressures, 35-55 bar. 2) The Romanian gas transport system is mainly made of pipes between DN250-DN800, operated at pressures between 10-35 bar, except for the pipelines through which the gas transit from the Russian Federation is performed, to the countries on the Balkan corridor”, it is shown in the decision’s substantiation note.
As such, new parallel investments are needed both in the Romanian and Moldavian transport systems, and Transgaz, the pipeline system operator in Romania, has this project in its development strategy.
“The development of this natural gas transport corridor is meant to ensure the functioning of the technical design parameters, of the two-way physical interconnection with the Republic of Moldova (functioning from 2014 between Iasi and Ungheni). To this end, it is necessary to rehabilitate some of the existing pipelines of this corrdior, as well as the construction of new pipelines and locating two new compression stations”, says Transgaz.