Romanian natural gas transmission system operator Transgaz announced that the cost of the phase 1 of the BRHA gas pipeline project amounted to 377.4 million euros, which represents savings of 21 % (101.1 million euros) compared to the tendered cost.
Phase 1 BRHA gas pipeline has its entire transmission capacity booked in Hungary direction, through the interconnection point Csanadpalota (Hungary) and it ensures the transit of the natural gas entering from Bulgaria to
Romania, at the interconnection point Kardam (BG) – Negru Voda 1 (RO). The capacity currently transported through BRHA gas pipeline is 4.6 million cubic meters per day, which means an annual volume of 1.68 billion cubic meters, at the load level of 96 %.
With the completion of phase 1 of BRHA project, the following objectives were accomplished: the fulfillment of the commitments assumed in front of the European Commission, to ensure the maximum available capacity for the network users to export gas from Romania to Hungary and Bulgaria; ensuring a gas capacity of 1.5 billion cubic meters per year to Bulgaria; the development of a transmission capacity of 1.75 billion cubic meters per year to Hungary; ensuring the security of gas supply to Romania by the access to new gas sources; diversification of the
sources of natural gas supply to the European countries; transport of the Caspian natural gas reserves to the Central European markets.
The total cost per kilometer of the phase 1 of BRHA gas pipeline, including the turbo-compressor stations (Podisor, Bibesti, Jupa) stands at 783,200 euros. The total cost per kilometers without the compressor stations amounts to 546,500 euros.
Phase 1 of the BRHA gas pipeline project is an essential stage in the development of the national gas transmission system. With its commissioning, Romania gets connected to the regional transmission corridors and will be able to ensure its supply of natural gas from new sources, which will better meet the demand existing on the domestic market and will lead to a higher level of predictability and energy security for the Romanian consumer. At the same time, BRHA pipeline also means an access way to European markets for the potential production of natural gas
extracted by Romania from the Black Sea.