Possible routing of Eastring. (source: www.eastring.eu)
Eastring, the project for a pan-European gas pipeline from the Slovak transmission system operator Eustream, is closer to its construction. The EU’s Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) and Eustream have inked a grant agreement under which Eustream can draw EU funds for the detailed feasibility study needed for the planned bi-directional pipeline. The aim of the study is to define the optimal technical and other parameters of the project, including the possible routing options.
“The results of the feasibility study will serve as the basis for the final investment decision on the project,” said Pavol Kubík, spokesperson of Eusteram, as cited by the venergetike.sk website dedicated to the energy sector.
The grant agreement became effective on May 12. The feasibility study will be funded under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) with a sum of up to €1 million or 50 percent of the eligible costs, Kubík informed in the company’s press release.
The grant application was submitted with support from the transmission system operators from Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.
“Obtaining the grant and the subsequent signing of the agreement with the INEA are important steps for the planned gas pipeline, which is labelled by the EU as a Project of Common Interest (PCI),” said Kubík as cited by the TASR newswire.
Eastring should help Eustream to find a new usage for its transmission system after Russia materialises its plans and reduces the transit of its gas via the Ukraine, and thus also Slovakia, through Nord Stream II.
The Eastring pipeline will serve as an interconnection between western European liquid hubs and the Balkan region, an area with the potential to be a highly liquid region offering new natural gas sources from the Caspian/eastern Mediterranean/Middle East regions, Eustream writes on its web site.
The project will enhance the security of supply for the Balkan region as well as for the whole of Europe by creating a new corridor for new natural gas sources, and will help to improve competition by enabling diversification of routes and sources.
