The Greek gas transmission system operator DESFA on Wednesday signed a memorandum of cooperation with its Bulgarian, Romanian and Hungarian counterparts – Bulgartransgaz, Transgaz and FGSZ, respectively – for the linking of their gas grids via a “vertical gas corridor” running from Greece to Hungary and Ukraine.
The agreement was signed in Bucharest, Romania and also includes the ICGB AD consortium, the contractor for the Greece-Bulgarian Interconnector (IGB) pipeline project. It calls for the cooperation of all the companies to promote the vertical gas corridor interconnector gas pipelines.
DESFA noted that this involves a combination of projects and actions that include intervention in existing grids and agreements for connected systems with common rules, enabling two-directional transportation of natural gas from Greece to Hungary and Ukraine.
It was preceded by an agreement signed by Greece and Bulgaria on June 1 that allows reverse flow of natural gas between the two countries.
“The full activation of the Vertical Corridor will give the entire region the opportunity to significantly benefit from the opportunities of diversified natural gas imports that Greece has and which will soon be further increased, via an upgrade of the LNG Terminal in Revythousa and the Caspian Sea gas that will be transported by the TAP pipeline now under construction,” DESFA said.
DESFA President and CEO Sotirios Nikas, who signed the agreement for the Greek company said: “It is a step of major importance that simultaneously serves the country’s energy strategy and one of DESFA’s most important company goals: to activate a Vertical Corridor for moving natural gas from Greece up to Ukraine and vice-versa, a development that will contribute decisively to making Greece a regional natural gas hub and a factor reinforcing supply security in the surrounding region.”
Source: amna.gr
