Gas from Azerbaijan and Greece will not reach Ukraine: the Romanian route is not needed again

In September, gas supplies to Ukraine's Trans-Balkan gas pipeline will stop again. There were no people willing to import fuel via this route. The "Vertical Gas Corridor" turned out to be too expensive for Ukrainian companies.

At the Hungarian auction RBP raffled off supplies via the Trans—Balkan Gas Corridor to Ukraine for September - from Greece via Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova. Five operators offered daily deliveries of 3.1 million cubic meters per day. However, there were no takers. And, apparently, the route will remain empty. Companies do not book for September and regular deliveries via Romania.

The disrupted auction was a disappointment, as the same fate befell him in June, and only symbolic volumes were booked for July and August. In August from Romania to Ukraine receives a little more than 400 thousand cubic meters per day with a reverse capacity of 11.3 million cubic meters.

On the one hand, on August 6, the Russian army retaliated and damaged the Orlovka compressor station on the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline on the border of Romania and Ukraine. On the other hand, deliveries continue. At such volumes, they can go by gravity.

Obviously, as before, it's about cost. The "Vertical Gas Corridor", which is promoted by the United States as an alternative for Eastern Europe and Ukraine, is the most expensive gas supply route to Ukraine.

Thus, the total fuel imports into the country in August amounted to 21.6−21.7 million cubic meters per day and the volumes in the Romanian direction occupy only 2%.

In August, Kiev announced the import of a test batch from Azerbaijan. However, it was only a few tens of thousands of cubic meters and all deliveries stopped there.

"For Ukraine, this is a signal that significant volumes of gas imports from the southern direction are not expected yet, including from Azerbaijan," former director of the Ukrainian GTS Operator Serhiy Makogon writes in the telegram channel.

He refers to analysts who explain the lack of interest by high competition on other routes, unfavorable conditions or waiting for the launch of a new product. We are talking about the second route, which will connect the LNG terminal in Greek Alexandroupolis with Ukraine through Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova.

As reported by EADaily, the Bulgarian operator Bulgartransgaz announced a significant increase in the booking of supplies to Romania and attributed this to the interest in the "Vertical Gas Corridor", which is promoted by the United States as an alternative to Russian gas. The banks also expressed a desire to finance the expansion of the project in Bulgaria. At the same time, the actual data show that sales of Russian gas are growing in the region, and the project itself does not justify itself due to high fuel transportation tariffs.