The storage facility should be built near Falticeni and boost total underground storage capacity of Romgaz (SNG.RO) by some 7%.
“The new Moldavia underground natural gas storage facility project with a capacity of 200 million cubic meters/cycle (and possible to further develop) has a dual purpose,” the officials of Romgaz, the largest local natural gas producer, say.
“Considering the natural production decline in the Moldavian gas fields and the lack of gas storage facilities in the area, as well as the nature and structure of natural gas consumption in Romania and in the region, long-term development of new gas storage facilities is needed to keep consumption steady especially during the cold season.”
Romgaz now has natural gas storage facilities in Bilciuresti (Dambovita), Sarmasel (Mures), Urziceni (Ialomita), Cetate (Dolj), Ghercesti (Dolj) and Balanceanca (Ilfov) and their capacity stands at 3 billion cubic meters. Almost two thirds of this capacity is located in the south of Romania, ensuring the necessary consumption for Bucharest during winter, and one third in the center of Romania, in Transylvania, covering Cluj, Targu Mures and Sibiu.
The regional purpose of this project is to boost gas storage capacity in South-Eastern Europe by ensuring the necessary infrastructure for interconnection is in place in the eastern corridor linking the north and south of the EU. The project will improve supply security by reducing the reliance on gas imports during winter and help potential exports to the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine via existing interconnections, Romgaz officials added.
Four commercial gas fields have been identified that could be turned into underground storage facilities, Romgaz said. The project is now at the feasibility study phase and waiting to secure non-repayable funds to finance part of it.
Underground storage facilities are a safety net companies use to cover consumption and against price rises that normally come during peak consumption times.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)