Five Countries, Including Moldova, to Lower Gas Transit Tariffs to Ukraine

The gas transmission system (GTS) operators of Bulgaria, Greece, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine have agreed to reduce tariffs for transporting natural gas from Greece to Ukraine via the Trans-Balkan route by approximately 25%. According to a press release from Transgaz, the operators of these countries are jointly offering a capacity package for guaranteed gas volumes for the period from June to October 2025. This offer will facilitate the transit of gas from Greece to Ukraine, reports mold-street.com. The route strategically passes through the following interconnection points: Kulata/Sidirokastro (Greece–Bulgaria), Negru Voda 1/Kardam (Bulgaria–Romania), Isaccea 1/Orlovka (Romania–Ukraine), Causeni (Moldova), and Hrebenyky (Ukraine). The monthly volume for June 2025 is 31,356,129 kWh per day and will be offered on the Regional Booking Platform (RBP) on May 29, 2025. If a significant portion of the offered capacity remains unbooked, the operators are considering holding an additional auction later in the same month. Starting from the fourth Monday of each month, monthly auctions will be held for the following calendar month. A unified pricing mechanism will be applied for capacity allocation. The operators emphasize that by October 2025, Ukraine needs to inject approximately 5 billion cubic meters of gas into its underground storage facilities to prepare for the winter season and ensure protection for vulnerable consumer groups. The initiative to create a route-based product is aimed at meeting these urgent needs, including through the purchase of LNG from the United States and other reliable sources. To prevent speculation and ensure that the gas is delivered exclusively to Ukraine, auction participants will not be granted access to national virtual trading points or exit points in other countries along the route, except for those in Ukraine. Taking these restrictions into account, the tariff for the transit product will be equal to the sum of the tariffs at the import entry points along the route for the respective month, reduced by 25% (and by 46% for the Ukrainian gas transmission system operator GTSOU). As the operators note, this will increase the attractiveness of the route, help minimize the financial barriers and challenges faced by Ukraine, and boost the utilization of infrastructure and operators’ revenues through the sale of previously unused capacities. As a result, it may lead to lower gas transportation tariffs for end users in the participating countries.