Linking Moldovan and Romanian gas networks

The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) are planning to finance a major gas pipeline, linking Moldova with its neighbour Romania, writes Keith Nuthall. The €93mn project involves building a new 120-km natural gas trunk pipeline, linking Moldova’s capital Chisinau with Romania. It will have a diameter of 600 mm, an annual capacity of 1.5bn cm and connect with existing gas infrastructure networks at Ungheni on the Romania-Moldova border, linked by a pipeline and interconnector with nearby Iasi, in Romania, since 2014.

The EBRD and the EIB are both separately planning to lend €41mn to VestMoldTransgaz, the Moldova state-owned transmission system operator, controlling the Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline and the Romania-Moldova gas interconnector. The financing will help fund a gas sector reform action plan designed to liberalise and reform the Moldovan gas sector, although its future might be in doubt following the election of pro-Moscow candidate Igor Dodon as Moldova’s President on 13 November 2016. Nonetheless, said an EBRD note: ‘The project aims to enhance Moldova’s energy security by diversifying its gas supply sources.'