BRUA gas pipeline among Three Seas Initiative priority energy projects

The BRUA gas pipeline project, phases 1 and 2, and the Black Sea - Podisor transport infrastructure are energy priorities of the Three Seas Initiative (3SI); upgrading the storage facilities might also be considered in the future, the Ministry of Energy and Economy said.

"A meeting took place today, November 27, between representatives of the Ministry of Energy, Economy and the Business Environment and the representatives of the Three Seas Initiative Investment Fund. The investment objectives of the 3SI Investment Fund were presented on this occasion and the talks focused on the national priority projects in the field of energy. There are currently three energy projects on the 3SI list of priorities, specifically BRUA phase 1, BRUA phase 2 and the Black Sea - Podisor transport infrastructure. All three projects are implemented by Transgaz and already receive EU funding," the ministry representatives wrote on Facebook.

According to the cited source, the upgrading of the storage facilities and particularly of those related to the BRUA route might be envisaged in the future, in the context of Romania's interest in BRUA being included in the Southern Corridor.

"The Three Seas Initiative is a flexible and informal political platform at presidential level that brings together the 12 EU member states between the Adriatic, Baltic and Black Sea: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. The initiative is aimed at increasing convergence and cohesion, while at the same time reducing the economic development gap between various areas and EU member states, by increasing interconnectivity in the region, in the energy, transport and digital fields," the cited source said.

The basic principles of the Three Seas Initiative are the promotion of economic development, increasing cohesion at European level and strengthening transatlantic links.

The BRUA project aims to ensure access to new gas sources, as well as to facilitate the transport of Caspian gas to the markets of Central and Eastern Europe. The project has a bidirectional transmission capacity of 1.5 billion cubic meters per year to or from Bulgaria and 4.4 billion cubic meters per year to or from Hungary.