New pipelines help Hungary further diversify its energy imports

Recently completed pipelines between Greece and Bulgaria, between Poland and Slovakia, as well as the Baltic Pipe Project supplying gas from Norway to Poland, will help Hungary further diversify its energy imports, a deputy leader of Hungarian energy authority MEKH said in a statement on Tuesday.

Pál Ságvári said Europe was witnessing a “golden age” for infrastructure developments aimed at providing alternative energy sources for the region in wake of soaring energy prices and limited access to Russian supplies. He noted there is also a significant demand to upgrade existing pipelines, mentioning plans to double the capacity of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline and a “new momentum to complete EastMed”, a pipeline planned to transfer gas from the eastern Mediterranean to south-eastern Europe.

The Greece-Bulgaria Interconnector started operating on Oct. 1, with an annual capacity of 3 billion cubic metres. Baltic Pipe was put to operation at the same time with partial capacity, the statement said, adding that its full capacity will be 10 billion cubic metres.

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The Poland-Slovakia connector was completed in August, as “the last missing component” in the north-south corridor connecting the Baltic Sea with the Adriatic, facilitating shipments between the LNG terminal on Krk island and the terminals of Poland and Latvia, the statement said. Gas from southern Europe, north Africa, the Caucasus, as well as Norway will now be available to all countries in Europe, the statement said. The new interconnector will facilitate shipping 4.7 billion cubic metres of gas to Slovakia and 5.7 billion in the reverse direction, which will also provide Hungary an alternative supply route via the existing Hungary-Slovakia connector, the statement added.

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Source: MTI