Romania Completes Brua Compressor
Romanian gas system operator Transgaz announced on August 23 the inauguration of the third and final compressor station built under the first stage of the Brua pipeline project.
Transgaz said the Bibesti station had cost €39mn ($46mn) to complete. The company wrapped up work on two other compressor stations, Jupa and Podisor, in September and October.
Brua aims to link the gas grids of Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria. Its first stage is slated to cost €560mn and will involve the construction of a 550-km pipeline capable of carrying 1.5bn m3/yr of gas in the direction of Bulgaria and 1.75bn m3/yr in the direction of Hungary. Romania hopes to complete its section of the pipeline by the end of this year.
Brua's second stage calls for an expansion of the pipeline's transmission capacity from Romania to Hungary to 4.4bn m3/yr. But the plan is now up in the air, owing to delays at gas projects off Romania and lacklustre market interest.