Gas operators to supply Ukraine with US liquefied gas via Trans-Balkan pipeline

The gas transportation system operators of five Balkan, Southeastern and Eastern European countries have agreed to supply Ukraine with American liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Greece via the Trans-Balkan Gas Corridor, so that it can create the necessary reserves of this energy source before winter.

The agreement was reached by the gas operators of Bulgaria (Bulgartransgas), Greece (DESFA), Romania (Transgas), Moldova's VestMold Transgas and Ukraine's Gas TSO. It is also the first time that gas has been transported to Ukraine via the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline.

The companies "jointly offered a bundled package and route for the delivery of natural gas from June to October this year, which will facilitate the transport of gas from Greece to Ukraine," Romania's Transgas announced.

"By October 2025, Ukraine must inject about five billion cubic meters of natural gas into its underground storage facilities to prepare for the heating season and ensure that vulnerable categories of consumers are safe," the statement said.

In order to increase the attractiveness of this route, the operators have reached an agreement to offer potential clients a single transit tariff with a 25 percent discount, and for Ukraine the discount will be 46 percent.

The gas will be transported via the Balkan Gas Route along five interconnections: Sidirokastra - Kulata, Kardam-Negru Voda, Isakcha - Orlivka, which is already in Ukraine, and then through Moldovan territory and the Chausheni - Hrebeniki interconnection to the area of ​​the Ukrainian Black Sea city of Odessa.

On May 29, the operators of the signatory countries announced a tender to deliver 2,9 million cubic meters of gas per day to Ukraine in June and will conduct only one, joint auction for the allocation of capacity, i.e. the necessary resources, on all interconnections along the Trans-Balkan Corridor route.

The statement emphasizes that the operators designed the joint auction scheme and single prices for capacity allocation so that Ukraine could prepare for the heating season by winter.

The operators also expect that the agreed use of this route will increase the profitability of the management infrastructure along the entire route and increase revenues through the sale of previously unused capacities, Transgas stated.