Gas to reach Ukraine via Thrace
Three countries are added to the Vertical Corridor of SE Europe for their supply of the fuel
The liquefied natural gas (LNG) that ships will carry to the new Alexandroupoli terminal (FSRU) will reach up to Russia’s doorstep – i.e. Slovakia, Moldova and Ukraine.
The participation of Slovakia, Moldova and Ukraine in the so-called Vertical Corridor, which has been designed for a decade to diversify the countries’ energy sources, opens up new prospects for the export potential of Greece’s natural gas system in the region of Southeast Europe, having gained fresh momentum after Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine.
The natural gas managers participating in the Vertical Corridor initiative signed a cooperation memorandum for the inclusion of Slovakia, Moldova and Ukraine on Friday in Athens, on the sidelines of the CESEC Ministerial Conference.
The memorandum seals and expands the intensive cooperation developed by gas and LNG transmission system operators from Greece, such as DESFA and Gastrade, Bulgaria (ICGB, Bulgartransgaz), Romania (Transgaz), Hungary (FGSZ) and Slovakia (Eustream), following the meeting organized by DESFA last September in Thessaloniki.
The participation of the three new countries – especially the large market of Ukraine – gives new perspectives to the natural gas infrastructures of Greece that can support the transfer of increased quantities of gas to Bulgaria and from there to the wider region.
The prospects of upgrading the capacity of the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria pipeline (IGB) from 3 to 5 billion cubic meters of gas are also strengthened, as are Gastrade’s plans for a second FSRU in Alexandroupoli and the role of Greece as a transit agent and alternative “source” of gas for the countries of Southeast Europe. The gas from the Alexandroupoli FSRU, which starts commercial operations in March, will arrive through the IGB and the Sidirokastro station in reverse flow, in Bulgaria, and from there through the existing interconnections via Serbia, North Macedonia and Romania to Moldova and Ukraine and west to Hungary and Slovakia, a market of 65 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
