MoU on the Partnership for the Development of Natural Gas Networks in Eastern Europe

On January 28, the Memorandum of Understanding on the Partnership for the Development of Natural Gas Networks in Eastern Europe (EE-NGP) was signed by all the entities member of the project, according to Transgaz.

EE-NGP is established by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Energy Association of the United States of America (USEA), ministries and gas transmission system operators (TSO) of Eastern Europe to ensure a sustainable institutional capacity in view of the development and usage of the first joint methods for planning transportation in the region, to accelerate the development of the Eastern European gas transmission infrastructure.

The mission of EE-NGP consists in supporting the following objectives:

• Promoting regional cooperation in view of the planning of natural gas networks among ministries and TSOs in Eastern Europe;
• Improving the capacity of the ministries and of the transmission systems operators to develop mathematical models for forecasting and simulating the domestic gas networks; interconnection pipelines and storage facilities;
• Supporting the harmonization at regional level of the methodologies for planning gas transmission and the operational principles;
• Carrying out analyses to identify potential investment projects in the gas transmission infrastructure for expanding the gas markets, while ensuring the security and reliability of the regional energy system;
• Promoting the results of the analyses to representatives of the political, regulatory and industry field.

The project member entities are: ALBGAZ. Sh.a. (Albania); BH-GAS D.O.O. (Bosnia & Herzegovina); BULGARTRANSGAZ EAD (Bulgaria); PLINACRO D.O.O.(Croatia); DESFA S.A. (Greece); MINISTERUL DEZVOLTĂRII ECONOMICE (Kosovo); GA-MA AD – SKOPJE (North Macedonia); MONTENEGRO BONUS (Montenegro); GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. (Poland); SNTGN TRANSGAZ SA (Romania); EUSTREAM (Slovakia); UNITD STATED ENERGY ASSOCIATION– USEA (USA).

These project member entities will constitute the EE-NGP Working Group composed of up to 2 people from each country, which will operate on the basis of a work plan and timetable for each of the successive stages of the project.

Transgaz has signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the Partnership for the Development of Eastern European Natural Gas Networks (EE-NGP) given its contribution to promoting regional cooperation, for the purpose of planning gas transmission networks among transmission and system operators in Eastern Europe and diversifying natural gas sources, supporting regional harmonization of methodologies for the planning of gas transmission and operational principles; to the development of exchanges of experience in the field of natural gas transmission infrastructure, to extending long and productive cooperation between the Romanian and American energy industries.