Reuters reported that on May 27, the National Energy Regulatory Commission of Ukraine officially approved the gas import mechanism through the Trans-Balkan corridor, a strategic gas pipeline extending from Greece through Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova to Ukraine.
This is the first time the pipeline has been operating in the opposite direction, allowing Ukraine to import up to 1 billion cubic meters of gas per year from the south, in the context that the country is urgently storing energy for the coming winter.
According to the announcement posted simultaneously on the websites of the Ukrainian Energy Committee and the Ministry of Energy, the country will be able to import a maximum of 3 million cubic meters of gas/day through a system of five countries: Greece (DESFA), Bulgaria ( bulgartransgaz), Romania (Transgaz), Moldova (VestMoldTransgaz) and Ukraine (Gas TSO of Ukraine).
Access to Greece's liquefied natural gas (LNG) ports is a major advantage for Ukraine in its strategy of completely cutting off from Russian energy supplies. Previously, the Trans-Balkan route mainly served the transportation of Russian gas to the Balkan countries. However, since 2019, when part of the infrastructure was integrated into the Balkan Stream project, the role of this route began to change.
Using the Trans-Balkan Corridor will help us diversify supply sources, reduce dependence and enhance energy security in the context of Russia continuing to target Ukraines gas infrastructure, Ukrainian Energy Minister German Halushchenko emphasized.
A breakthrough of the project is to replace the separate auction model in each country with a single general auction for the entire route, to increase efficiency and reduce costs. Previously, the transit fee through 5 countries made this route uncompetitive compared to other options such as through Slovakia or Hungary.
To overcome this, gas system operators have proposed a new trade mechanism - using the under exploited capacity to transport gas to Ukraine at more reasonable prices.
Since the beginning of the year, Ukraine has seen a serious decline in domestic gas production due to Russian missile attacks. The demand for storage for the 2025-2026 winter is estimated at 6.3 billion m3, of which the government sets a minimum target of 4 billion m3.
Ukrainian energy giant Naftogaz has signed a contract to buy 300 million cubic meters of LNG from the US via Orlen (Poland), but connectivity from Poland only allows for 7 million cubic meters per day, while Kiev has three times more demand.
In the short term, Ukraine will still rely on routes from Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. However, the Trans-Balkan corridor is opening up a more sustainable option, with the expectation of a maximum capacity of 20 million m3/day in the future, according to the 2023 general market assessment between the three countries of Ukraine, Romania and Moldova.
