This was reported by the press service of the NERC regulator
Ukraine has taken an important step in simplifying gas transportation through the Trans-Balkan corridor. This decision was made by the National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Utilities (NERC), as reported by the regulator’s press service.
Under the new conditions, the Operator of Ukraine’s Gas Transmission System has gained the ability to offer a joint transportation service product together with the gas transmission system operators of Bulgaria (Bulgartransgaz), Greece (DESFA SA), Moldova (VestMoldTransgaz SRL), and Romania (Transgaz SA). This means a single auction will be held to allocate capacity at all points along the Trans-Balkan corridor, enabling the transportation of natural gas from Greece to Ukraine with a volume of approximately 3 million cubic meters per day.
NERC believes this step will increase the attractiveness of the Ukrainian gas market and expand opportunities to diversify supply sources. This, in turn, will strengthen the region’s energy security, especially amid armed aggression from Russia.
The Ministry of Energy emphasized that the Trans-Balkan route has great potential to meet Ukraine’s needs and provides access to liquefied natural gas (LNG) sources. However, since it passes through five countries, the application of regulated tariffs makes it commercially less advantageous compared to other options.
The gas transmission system operators have developed an optimized solution that will allow the use of unused capacity of the Trans-Balkan pipeline for importing gas into Ukraine at competitive tariffs. This is particularly important in the context of preparing for the upcoming heating season.
The Trans-Balkan corridor is an important pipeline that was previously used to supply gas from Russia to the Balkans. In 2019, part of its infrastructure in Turkey and Bulgaria was integrated into the Balkan Stream pipeline.
Recall that at the end of 2024, Ukraine received liquefied natural gas from the American company Venture Global for the first time via Greece. At that time, a shipment of about 100 million cubic meters of gas aboard the Gaslog Savannah arrived at the Revithoussa LNG terminal.
