Romania-Moldova Gas Pipeline

This article is part of the Global Fossil Infrastructure Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

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Romania-Moldova Gas Pipeline is an operating (phase I) and under construction (phase II) natural gas pipeline connecting Moldova to Romania.

Location

Phase I

The pipeline runs from from Iasi, Romania to Ungheni, Romania.

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Phase II

The pipeline runs from Ungheni, Romania to Chisinau, Moldova.

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Project Details

Project Details, Phase I

• Operator: SNTGN Transgaz SA
• Owner: SNTGN Transgaz SA [75%], European Bank for Reconstruction and Development [25%]
• Parents: Transgaz, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
• Capacity:
• Length: 33 km
• Diameter:
• Status: Operating
• Start Year: 2015

Project Details, Phase II

• Operator: SNTGN Transgaz SA
• Owner: SNTGN Transgaz SA [75%], European Bank for Reconstruction and Development [25%]
• Parents: Transgaz, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

• Capacity: 1.5 bcm/y
• Length: 120 km
• Diameter:
• Cost: €92 million (US$104.8 million)
• Status: Construction complete
• Start Year: 2020
• Financing: €41 million loan from the European Investment Bank ; €10 million grant from the European Union; €20 million equity investment from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and an equity investment from Eurotransgaz

Background

The gas pipeline, which runs from Iasi in Romania to Chisinau in Moldova, will link Moldova to the European energy system via Romania. The pipeline is being built by Vestmoldtransgaz, which is owned by the Romanian energy company Transgaz. As of April 2020, 106 of the 120 kilometers (or 88%) had been completed. Since early 2019, construction was being carried out on all seven sectors of the pipeline on Moldovan territory. The deadline for completion is the second half of 2020. The pipeline is designed to be an alternative to Russian gas delivered by Gazprom, which is currently responsible for 99 percent of Moldova's gas use. Gazprom owns also 51 per cent of Moldovagaz, the main gas company in the country.

According to Energy Community, the Project Code on the 2018 PMI list is Gas_18 and its ENTSOG TYNDP code is TRA-N-357.

In January 2020, Transgaz said works are on schedule for a 2020 commissioning.

In August 2020, Serbia-Energy announced that Transgaz had launched the technical tests on the pipeline which meant that the project was in its "last phase before the commissioning of the project." The announcement also noted that theres is no commercial contract in place for gas to be pumped along the pipeline.

As of October 2020 construction was completed and operations were pending.

In July 2021, Balkan Insight reported despite construction being finished, "almost a year later, the gas is still to flow." The articles gives October 1, 2021 as an expected start date.

Financing

In December 2016, it was announced that Vestmoldtransgaz would be receiving a €92 million financing package for the construction of the pipeline from the European Union (a €10 million grant), and loans of €41 million each from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB). Following the privatisation of Vestmoldtransgaz, the EBRD loan was cancelled. However, in August 2020, the EBRD announced that it was getting back into the project with a €20 million equity investment which gives it a 25 per cent stake in Vestmoldtransgaz. The EBRD said that Vestmoldtransgaz was also making an undisclosed equity investment in the project. EBRD Vice President Alain Pilloux commented: "The project helps integrate Moldova into future major gas infrastructure projects such as the Trans-Adriatic Gas Pipeline and gas sources from central European hubs, and links it with Black Sea gas deposits."