Transit II Pipeline Contract to Expire at the End of the Year

A Foreign Affairs Ministry Order published in the Official Gazette on September 29 announced the impending expiry on December 31 of the 1996 Intergovernmental Agreement between Romania and the Russian Federation regarding gas transportation on the so-called Tranzit II pipeline, across Romanian territory. 

Romania’s Gas Transport System Operator, Transgaz S.A., owns and operates three pipelines between Isaccea (at Romania’s border with Ukraine) and Negru Vodă (bordering Bulgaria) transporting Russian gas towards Bulgaria, Turkey, and the Balkans. 

The contracts governing the Transit I and III pipelines will run out 31 December 2016 and 2023 respectively. In order to comply with European legislation, Transgaz will have to ensure that, as of January 1 2016, Transit II will allow third party access and reverse flow, and become integrated in the national gas grid. 

According to media reports, Transgaz is preparing to auction capacity to this avail by the end of the year, yet no official communication from Transgaz has been published to this effect. 

Even though Romania is presently importing far less Russian gas than it used to about six years ago, the breakthrough from an energy security point of view is that Gazprom’s transit monopoly is interrupted, even though some time will pass before that transport capacity will be ready for use by other suppliers. 

This originally appeared in Energy Policy Group's September 2015 ROMANIAN ENERGY MARKET MONITOR. EPG is a Natural Gas Europe Knowledge Partner.