The Iași–Chișinău pipeline, also known as the Iași–Ungheni–Chișinău pipeline, is a
natural gas
Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
pipeline
A pipeline is a system of Pipe (fluid conveyance), pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries ...
going from
Iași
Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...
in
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
to
Chișinău
Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...
in
Moldova
Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...
.
The pipeline was inaugurated in 2014 and connected Iași with the Moldovan town of
Ungheni
Ungheni () is a municipality in Moldova. With a population of 35,157, it is the seventh largest town in Moldova and the seat of Ungheni District.
There is a bridge across the Prut and a List of Moldova–Romania border crossings, border chec ...
. It was extended to the capital Chișinău in 2019, with the
compressor stations being put into operation in 2021. However, it was not used until the
2022 Moldovan energy crisis.
The pipeline is long
and has a capacity of of gas per day, or about per year. It cost Romania's
Transgaz
Transgaz is a state-owned company, which is the technical operator of the national natural gas transmission system in Romania. The company handled in 2017 a quantity of 12.87 billion m³ of natural gas.
The company has a total transport capacity ...
state-owned company about 150 million
euro
The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
s.
It supplies gas from Romania to Moldova through a reverse flow of the
Trans-Balkan pipeline.
In 2024, then
Minister of Energy of Moldova,
Victor Parlicov, stated that the pipeline was a real lifesaver for Moldova's energy security during the energy crisis in 2022, when
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
's
Gazprom
PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐsˈprom) is a Russian State-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational Energy industry, energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. The Gazprom name is a contract ...
unilaterally reduced the volume of gas delivered to Moldova. The pipeline permitted Moldova to obtain gas from the European market, allowing it to overcome the crisis.
As of late 2023, Moldova no longer imported gas from Russia.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iasi-Chisinau pipeline
Natural gas pipelines in Romania
Natural gas pipelines in Moldova
Energy infrastructure completed in 2014
Moldova–Romania relations