Romania Opens Second Bulgarian Gas Import Route via Ruse-Giurgiu
Romania has begun receiving about 0.2 million cubic metres of gas per day through the Ruse-Giurgiu interconnector, adding a second import route from Bulgaria. The new flow is small compared with Kardam-Negru Vodă but provides additional flexibility as Romania supplies its domestic market, fills storage and moves gas toward Hungary and Moldova.
Initial flows begin at Ruse-Giurgiu
Romania has started importing natural gas through a second connection with Bulgaria, opening flows at the Ruse-Giurgiu interconnector. Stiridecluj.ro reports that around 0.2 million cubic metres per day entered Romania through the route in recent days. The volume remains modest compared with the country’s principal Bulgarian entry point at Kardam-Negru Vodă, where daily flows reach 12-13 million cubic metres.
The additional route takes Romania’s total gas imports close to 14 million cubic metres per day. Although Ruse-Giurgiu currently accounts for only a small share of those inflows, it gives system operators another entry point and supports both current supply and the accumulation of stocks for the cold season. The diversification is relevant because Romania is simultaneously serving domestic users, filling storage facilities and maintaining cross-border deliveries.
Romania remains a regional transit corridor
More than half of the gas imported into Romania does not remain in the domestic market, according to Stiridecluj.ro. Around 7.7-7.8 million cubic metres per day moves toward Hungary through the Arad-Szeged interconnector, which is operating at its maximum capacity. Romania is one of two main transit routes, alongside Serbia, for Russian gas delivered to Hungary under the country’s long-term supply contract with Russia.
Romania also continues to deliver approximately 2.2-2.5 million cubic metres of gas per day to Moldova. These supplies have become central to Moldova’s procurement after the country ended its contract with Gazprom, and their importance rises during the colder part of the year. The combination of Hungarian transit and Moldovan deliveries means that headline import volumes are substantially higher than the quantity available solely for Romanian consumption or storage.
The gas entering Romania from Bulgaria forms part of flows arriving from Turkey. According to the source, this mix may contain Azerbaijani gas, Russian gas and production originating in Turkey. The composition underlines the role of the Bulgarian-Romanian border as part of a wider northbound supply chain rather than a corridor tied to a single producing country.
Storage advances as domestic output remains lower
The portion retained in Romania supplies the internal market and contributes to winter inventories during a period of relatively low consumption. In the current storage season, which ends on 31 October, Romanian gas facilities have reached an estimated filling level of about 75%. That is above the cited European average of roughly 67%, giving Romania a stronger inventory position as seasonal demand approaches.
Domestic gas production has held at approximately 22 million cubic metres per day for several months, about 10% below its usual average. The reduction has been linked to maintenance work carried out successively at fields operated by Romgaz and OMV Petrom during the lower-demand summer period. Against that backdrop, the Ruse-Giurgiu route is not a replacement for the much larger Kardam-Negru Vodă flow, but it adds operational flexibility while production is below normal and several regional delivery obligations compete for available gas.