Romania Imports Huge Volumes of Gas for Domestic Consumption and for Two Banks of the Dniester

Today, 5 February, a large amount of natural gas from Bulgaria enters the Romanian system. Large volumes then go to the Republic of Moldova and Transnistria, but a significant amount is also consumed inside the neighboring country. On 5 February, 11.9 million cubic meters of natural gas will enter Romania through the Kardam-Negru Voda connection point with Bulgaria. According to economica.net, this is the largest daily volume entering this Romanian network via the Trans-Balkan pipeline since the beginning of the current cold season. 6.1 million of the nearly 12 million cubic meters of gas are supplied from Romania to Moldova via Ungheni, while 1 million cubic meters are delivered to Ukraine via Isaccea-Orlivka for consumption in Transnistria, following an agreement whereby gas is purchased on the European market for delivery to the left bank of the Dniester. Moldova has received financial assistance from the EU in the amount of 30 million euros to finance the purchase of gas and electricity. In fact, Chisinau’s state-owned trader Energocom, which handles the purchases, reported that since 1 February, “gas destined for the Transnistrian region has been purchased on exchanges in Romania and Bulgaria, transported through the Trans-Balkan corridor and the Iasi-Ungheni gas pipeline”. According to the latest data, 2.57 million cubic meters of gas were delivered on 3 February.