New Gas Pipeline Launched Between Romania and Hungary

The prime ministers of Romania and Hungary, along with EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger, on Thursday attended the launch of a gas pipeline that connects the two countries and allows Romania to import gas from western Europe. The project is an important step forward towards the creation of an efficient energy network in central Europe. For Romania it is also important because it lessens the country’s dependence on Russian energy,” said Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc.The Arad–Szeged pipeline is 109 kilometres long and should transit 4.4 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year. It is part of the larger New European Transmission System, which is designed to unite central and southeastern Europe's natural gas transmission networks.

The total cost of the pipeline was around EUR 68 million. Romania produces some 13 billion cubic metres of gas a year, representing about 60 per cent of its annual needs. It imports the rest exclusively from Russia. While Romania is looking to reduce its dependence on Russian energy, it has recently shown interest in participating in the Russian-backed South Stream pipeline. Romanian and Russian officials on Wednesday agreed to carry out a technical analysis of possible Romanian participation in the gas transit pipeline. Local authorities, who in recent years have expressed their reluctance to take part in the project, have not commented further on the proposal, but local analysts said that Romania is interested in participating in the pipeline as the Balkan countries look to diversify gas supply routes. Romania has been a strong supporter of Gazprom's direct competitor, the Nabucco project, which aims to reduce European reliance on Russian gas by providing access to supplies from Azerbaijan and other central Asian countries.

News source: Balkan Insight link: article