PM's from Romania, Moldovia to be Present at Inauguration of Iasi-Ungheni Pipeline Construction
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Iurie Leanca, has invited Romania’s Prime Minister Victor Ponta to be present on August 27th for the commencement of construction on the Iasi-Ungheni natural gas pipeline. Also expected to be present is European Commissioner for Energy, Guenther Oettinger. The invitation was extended during the official visit of the Moldovan Prime Minister in Bucharest which took place this week.
“I am convinced that the discussions we had today, of a very specific nature, will enable us on August 27th when we will celebrate the Independence Day in Chisinau together with the Prime Minister and the EU commissioner for energy, to inaugurate the construction of Iasi-Ungheni gas line”, said Leanca.
The Iasi-Ungheni pipeline will connect Romania and Moldova’s gas networks. Construction is expected to cost €19.2 million and the pipeline will have an annual capacity of 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas, the equivalent of around 15% of Moldova’s annual production. Construction is expected to last 17 months. The main gas producers in Romania are the state owned company Romgaz Medias and OMV Petrom, owned by the Austrian group OMV.
The two producers have an annual production of around 10 billion cubic meters, equivalent to two thirds of the demand. The difference is imported from the Russian Federation, thus the two companies will be the main beneficiaries of the new import route from the Russian Federation, but the gas line will be operated in both directions.
The Iasi-Ungheni pipeline will be 43.2 kilometers long, 32.8 kilometers of which is on Romanian territory. Romania’s investment in this project amounts to approximately €12 million. The European Union will grant to the Republic of Moldova a non-refundable grant of €12 million for Moldovan construction which will be 8.9 kilometers long and also for the infrastructure necessary to cross Prut River (not included in the total cost of the gas line).
Part of this system will be represented by a gas measuring station, including filters and separators to reduce pressure, protective equipment, for which the EU will approve a separate non-refundable grant amounting to €5 million for Romania and €7 million for Moldova. The importance of the connection between Romania and the Moldova resides in the fact that it represents an important part of the latter's energy security as it will gain access alternative gas sources and no longer depend on a single gas supplier (Russia).
Silviu Molnar