30.11.2011

Reverse flow project is completed

Today the company Eustream officially completed the project of reverse flow of gas costing over a million euro, which was co-financed by the European Union. The Slovak transmission network is therefore now able to transport natural gas from the west to the east in standard operating mode, thereby diversifying gas supply routes for the needs of the Slovak Republic. Eustream managed to establish physical reverse flow from the Czech Republic back in 2009 already (in manual mode and with smaller volume of gas transmission). Now it is possible, if necessary, to launch reverse flow without the need for any manual interventions, in automatic mode directly from the transmission dispatch centre of the company Eustream.

In reverse flow mode, Eustream is capable of transporting daily more gas than the peak consumption of Slovakia in the winter months. This means that the country is no longer dependent on the route from the east and so if the gas crisis is repeated, Slovakia can supplied sufficiently from the west of Europe.

The natural gas reverse flow project overseen by the company Eustream received financial support from the European Commission as part of the European Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR). The outcome of the project is that already now in the winter of 2011 Slovakia will be able to switch to reverse flow in necessary volumes from the Czech Republic and Austria, as well as from the west of the country to the east.

The project was part of the initiative that was started back in January 2009 in reaction to the gas crisis, when Slovakia found itself without supplies of natural gas from the east due to disputes between Ukraine and Russia. “Securing gas supplies from the west to the east in the event of another gas crisis contributes to increasing the economic and social security of the state, businesses and people. In January 2009 we proved that reverse flow was technically possible. Now Eustream has produced a more standard reverse flow solution for operation of all parts of the system, including compressor stations”, says Andreas Rau, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Eustream.

The aim of the project was to install high-pressure connections to the distribution hub at Plavecky Peter and to the compressor station in Ivanka pri Nitre. All the work was completed according to the schedule as of 30 November 2011.

“The project is beneficial not just for Slovakia, but also in a European context, because it enables the interconnection of European gas networks, thereby increasing the flexibility of their use and contributing to boosting the energy security of the European Union”, underlined Branislav Bajza, Vice-chairman of the Board of Directors of Eustream.

The new connections established as part of the common European-Slovak project make standard operation in reverse flow mode possible without the need for any additional interventions or adjustments. Thanks to this successful project, Eustream is fully prepared for a crisis situation.
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