Romania-Moldova Gas Pipeline Opens

The new pipeline, which connects the town of Iasi, in eastern Romania, with Ungheni in Moldova, will help the former Soviet republic reduce its reliance on gas imports from Russia.

Prime Minister Victor Ponta and Moldavan Prime Minister, Iurie Leanca, will be present on Wednesday for the official inauguration of the 45-kilometre-long pipeline.

“The pipeline will allow Moldova to open an alternative supply route and thus avoid any new crisis such as in 2009, when [Russia's] Gazprom cut off natural gas supplies to many European countries due to its disagreements with Ukraine,” Moldovan expert Victoria Bucatru said.

In the first stage, the pipeline will deliver natural gas only to the area close to the border. About 100 km of gas pipeline remain to be built running to Chisinau, the Moldova’s capital, avoiding the existing gas network, which Gazprom owns.

The Iasi-Ungheni pipeline has cost around 30 million euro and its construction took less than a year. The EU covered one-third of the costs and the rest came from Romania.

Romania produces about 11 billion cubic metres of gas a year, covering about 75 per cent of its annual needs. It imports the rest exclusively from Russia.

The Balkan country is looking to reduce its dependence on Russian energy, mainly by diversifying gas supply routes.

Moldova was part of Romania from 1918 to 1940, when the Soviet Union annexed it - before 1918 it was part of the Russian Empire.

It became independent in 1991 and the two countries share the same ethnic and linguistic background. About 80 per cent of the Moldova’s population of 4.1 million are of Romanian ethnic origin and speak Romanian as well as Russian.