site.btaParliament Adopts Decision on Vertical Corridor of Gas Transmission Operators

The National Assembly on Thursday adopted a decision on the Vertical Corridor initiative of the gas transmission operators of Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Ukraine and Moldova, providing the possibility to transport additional volumes of natural gas from diverse and reliable sources. The decision was adopted with 133 votes in favour, 46 against and nine abstentions. The sponsors were the floor leaders of GERB-UDF Boyko Borissov, of MRF Delyan Peevski, and of Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria Kiril Petkov.

The draft decision instructs the Minister of Energy to study the possibility of European funding for the implementation of three gas transmission projects, the indicative value of which is BGN 825 million excluding VAT. It is also envisaged that by  May 1, the Minister of Energy will increase the capital of Bulgartransgaz EAD by BGN 200 million and that the funds will be used for the preparation and implementation of the projects.

The decision provides for the expansion of the gas transmission infrastructure of Bulgartransgaz EAD and the implementation of the following projects: Increasing the natural gas transmission capacity at the interconnection point Kulata/Sidirokastro from Greece to Bulgaria; Increasing the natural gas transmission capacity at the Negru Voda/Kardam interconnection point from Bulgaria to Romania; High-pressure gas transmission infrastructure to supply consumers in the East Maritsa region.

The Energy Committee report states that the implementation of these projects is of great strategic importance for two reasons: the imminent suspension of Russian gas transit through Ukraine as of January 1, 2025; the fact that the existing infrastructure of Bulgartransgaz EAD does not allow for the full replacement of Russian gas transited through its network, while the projects will provide the network with the technical capability to transport increasing quantities of natural gas from a variety of reliable sources.

To meet gas demand in Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria, Croatia and Italy, which receive gas via Ukraine, competing routes are being considered through LNG supplies via routes from Southern, Northern and Western Europe and an increase of up to 4 billion cubic metres in supplies from Russia via the Turkish Stream offshore pipeline. In this regard, to maintain Bulgaria's place on the gas map of Europe, to replace the Russian gas in transit with LNG and to secure the necessary volumes for Central Europe, the projects need to be implemented in an accelerated order, the importers said.

Following Ukraine's accession to the Vertical Gas Corridor initiative, it represents not only a competitive but also a solidarity-based solution to secure gas supplies to Europe. The implementation of these projects by Bulgartransgaz EAD will allow the utilisation of the capacities of Ukraine's pipelines and gas storage facilities and preserve the role of Ukraine's gas infrastructure for European energy security, the committee's report further states.