Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary decided to improve the interconnections and the transmission capacity of its gas transmission networks, which is part of its long-term efforts to diversify gas sources and increase its role in Europe’s energy supply chain, commented “Reuters”.
In 2016, the four countries agreed to develop the infrastructure needed to the implementation of the so-called vertical gas corridorwhich will allow bi-directional flows of gas from Greece to Northern Europe through Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary.
After Russia cut off gas supplies to Europe due to the war in Ukraine, European countries are looking for alternative gas suppliers and seek more active energy cooperation.
According to the memorandum of understanding signed on Thursday at the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) conference in Athens, DESFA of Greece, Bulgartransgaz of Bulgaria, FGSZ of Hungary and SNTGN Transgaz of Romania have agreed initiate discussions on regulatory and economic aspects on the corridor, DESFA said in a statement.
The agreement will be concluded for a period of three years with the possibility of extension for another year, he added.
“The document is an important step towards the realization of the Vertical Corridor, a project that will significantly contribute to the security of supply throughout the region,” said Maria Rita Gali, CEO of DESFA.
He added that it will further strengthen the role of Greece and the largest region in the field of energy.
ICGB, owner of the second Greek-Bulgarian gas link (IGB) – a key part of the Vertical Gas Corridor, which went into operation this year – and Gastrade, developer of a floating storage and regasification facility off the northern Greek port of Alexandroupolis, also signed the agreement on Thursday.
The IGB will become even more important once its maximum annual capacity increases by 3 bcm.
“In coordination with DESFA, we have the opportunity to increase this capacity (a) up to 5 bcm per year,” said two senior ICGB executives, adding that this should take place in parallel with the commissioning of the LNG terminal near Alexandroupolis that expiring in 2024
Greece has begun exporting gas to Bulgaria, which was cut off from Russian supplies earlier this year after refusing to pay in Russian rubles.
The latest development fits well with Greece’s plans to become a major transit route for liquefied gas in Europe.
In that year Athens reduced more than double the import of Russian gas, instead increasing supplies of LNG, mainly from the United States and Egypt, to its sole LNG facility at Revitoussa near Athens.
