Balkan Gas Hub to Coordinate with Eastring Pipeline

Slovak company Eustream and Bulgarian company Bulgartransgaz recently signed an agreement of intent which concerns the implementation of the project of the Balkan gas trading unit (Balkan Gas Hub) in coordination with Eastring, says business portal Bratislava.

Eastring is a new pipeline corridor ready for future gas imports to Europe from well-established and alternative sources: the Black Sea area, the Caspian region, the Middle East, a potential Turkish hub, and others.

The Eastring pipeline was initiated by Slovak construction company Eustream, supported by the Government of that Republic.

To be laid across the territories of Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, its annual production capacity, according to the plan, will at the initial stage be 20 billion cubic meters of gas, with a gradual increase to double that.

The length of the pipeline, depending on the selected route, is foreseen as 744 to 1015 kilometers, with gas travelling in both directions.

Investment costs at the first phase of the project are expected to be to the amount of EUR 1.14 to 1.52 billion.

"We have agreed that the joint analyzes and technical solutions of the Balkan Gas Hub project will be closely coordinated with Eastring,” said Rastislav Nyukovich, Eustream CEO, after signing the agreement. “I see this as a confirmation of the strategic partnership of both companies in the implementation of these projects, with the aim to enhance the security of gas supplies in the region of Central and South-Eastern Europe.”

The company is currently preparing Eustream documents together with partners from Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, to request a European Commission grant for the preparation of project implementation.

Dimitri Dolaberidze