Being in Baku, where the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) is currently taking place, the Minister of Energy, Victor Parlicov, participated in the panel discussion "Vertical Corridor: Europe's New Energy Lifeline", dedicated to the topic of strengthening the natural gas transport capacity from Greece to Hungary.

In his intervention, Minister Victor Parlicov emphasized the essential role of the Vertical Corridor, which, starting with 2022, has constituted a reliable alternative for the Republic of Moldova, reducing the historical dependence on Gazprom.

"For us, this route was truly essential. It all started in December 2022, when we demonstrated that we can fully replace the gas previously delivered by Gazprom for the right bank of the Dniester, with natural gas purchased on the stock market. It was an experience of survival in a crisis that we did not cause, and the result was that we managed to buy cheaper gas on the European market than the price set in the contracts with Gazprom. Currently, we are counting on expanding the transport capacities of the Vertical Corridor, which would allow the Republic of Moldova to play an active role in strengthening regional energy security,” Victor Parlicov said during the discussions.

At the same time, the minister emphasized that from an economic point of view, this route created conditions for a business model that was previously available only to Gazprom, and the introduction of a single transport tariff would be an essential element for traders.

Greece has two liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, Revithoussa in Revithoussa, capable of regasifying a volume of approximately 5.3 billion cubic meters of gas per year, and in Alexandropoulis, with a regasification capacity of 5.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year.

Ahead of the scheduled commercial launch on October 1, 2024, 14 international and Greek companies have already committed to booking virtually all of the Alexandroupolis terminal’s capacity until at least 2030, underlining its strategic importance in regional gas supply.

During the panel, Minister Victor Parlicov invited Greek companies to participate in the Moldovan energy market by registering to trade on the BRM East Energy platform.

Recall that the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine joined the Vertical Gas Transport Corridor in January of this year.