After many years during which Romania transited the largest volume of gas to Hungary – even at the maximum capacity of the Arad-Szeged interconnection (7 million cubic meters per day) – the situation has changed.
Now, as writes Romanian publication Economedia, 2.6 million cubic meters pass through Isakçu for Ukrainians every day, while in Arad the volumes for Hungarians are limited to 2.3 million cubic meters, which is three times less than in previous years.
It is not only about gas of own production. Romania is also a transit country for gas from other sources. This situation, as the quoted publication also notes, has persisted since November last year, when the Vertical Corridor was put into operation, through which gas (mostly American) unloaded from LNG tankers at terminals in Greece is delivered to the Ukrainian market.
Romania is an important part of this project, actively supported by America and the EU, as it distributes gas not only to Ukraine but also to the Republic of Moldova. In contrast, the Hungarians are having problems with their gas supply because it was Russian gas (“packaged” in Turkey) coming through Bulgarian and Romanian pipelines.
Russian gas supplies are under EU pressure and sanctions, but Hungary and Slovakia are unwilling to give up this source, claiming they have no alternative.
It is assumed that this reduction in transit through Romania is due to Budapest’s attempts to secure supplies from other regions in the volumes needed to meet domestic consumption.
Romania’s consumption during this cold period exceeds 60 million m3. The main source is production from fields, followed by current production and imports.
Exports to Moldova remain stable at almost 6 million m3, which almost fully satisfies its needs. Moldova is fully dependent on Romania for its consumption, both as a direct import and because Romania provides our country with storage space in its underground gas storage facilities.
According to open sources, Romania’s own natural gas production in 2023-2025 was estimated at 10.6-10.8 billion m3 per year. At the same time, the consumption of blue fuel during these years was 12.1-11.0 billion m3.
In this case, it turns out that all of Romania’s gas is used for its own consumption, and there is not enough of it. Hungary and Slovakia, according to the Romanian edition, receive Russian gas (via Turkish Stream). Moldova and Ukraine receive American LNG from Greece via the Vertical Corridor.
