Bulgaria expands the “Southern Gas Corridor”, which also passes through Romania. The pipe for the new pipelines has arrived in the country

Bulgaria is starting construction of several pipeline sections to double the transit capacity of gas from Greece to Romania, Moldova and beyond through its gas transmission system, i.e. the extension of the already well-known “Vertical Gas Corridor”.

Earlier this week, 4,000 pipes arrived at the port of Burgas for the implementation of this project, according to a statement from the Bulgarian Ministry of Energy.

“The implementation of the Vertical Gas Corridor project guarantees that Bulgaria will never run out of natural gas and will be well supplied from all directions. It will also bring more income to our country through dividends of state-owned companies and thus reach municipalities and every Bulgarian citizen,” said Bulgarian Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov.

The pipes will be delivered to the construction sites by Easter (April 20), he said. There are plans to build additional pipelines near the Greek border (Kulata-Kresny) with a length of 48 kilometers and to the Romanian border (Rupcha-Vetrino) with a length of 61 kilometers. There are also plans for a 53-kilometer Piperevo-Pernik section.

The Vertical Gas Corridor project is a gas pipeline system that connects the countries’ national networks and other gas infrastructure to ensure gas transit and increase energy security.

Initially, gas transmission system operators from Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary participated. In January 2024, they were joined by network operators from Moldova, Ukraine and Slovakia.