Companies did not book capacity in the new joint auction for the Trans-Balkan route

The monthly capacity booking auction for June for natural gas transportation from Greece to Ukraine via the new joint product of the transmission system operators of Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece ended with no bookings. According to the capacity booking platform, no capacity was reserved for June, ExPro reports.

New gas import route

The new gas supply route to Ukraine had been approved shortly before the auction. The route provided for joint capacity booking at entry/exit points starting from the Greek LNG terminal Revithoussa and ending at the Grebenyky entry point to Ukraine’s gas transmission system on the border with Moldova. The proposed capacity was nearly 3 mcm per day.

According to the GTS Operator of Ukraine, the estimated tariff under the new transportation product was €7.8/MWh (including the LNG regasification cost), which is 20% lower than the current tariffs of €9.77/MWh. The new tariff includes a 25% discount for the monthly tariff in Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, and Moldova, as well as a 46% discount for Ukraine.

In recent days, some media reported that Naftogaz of Ukraine NJSC would begin importing U.S. LNG as early as June via the new gas transportation route to Ukraine. However, no capacity was booked.

Given the short time frame and the absence of capacity bookings in the first auction of the joint product, another auction for June or for a partial period of the month may be held in the coming days.

Going forward, auctions for booking capacity under this product for the next calendar month are planned for the fourth Monday of each month. Capacity allocation will be conducted on a uniform price auction basis.

As previously reported by ExPro, the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NEURC) approved the creation of a joint product for gas imports via the Vertical Corridor.