High Level Executives of DESFA and North Macedonia’s state-owned Energy Resources Utilization Corporation MER JSC Skopje, held a series of meetings in North Macedonia on 19 and 20 February with the aim to further promote the joint implementation of the project “Pipeline N. Messimvria-Skopje”.
More specifically, MER’s representatives assured DESFA’s representatives that no other similar project has received license by the competent authorities in the territory of North Macedonia. In parallel, they highlighted that the project is a top priority for their country, as it will offer an alternative source of natural gas supply, aiming at the diversification of energy sources and energy security. They also referred to another dimension of the project, which is related to the supply of other Balkan countries. Specifically, MER informed DESFA that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has already been signed with the competent authorities of Kosovo on the interconnection of the systems of the two countries.
For their part, the representatives of the Operator noted that the interconnection project has the full support of DESFA’s new shareholders.
Also, it was emphasized during the meetings, that the new pipeline is planned to be open to third-party access, meaning that any future user will be able to reserve capacity and transfer gas to North Macedonia in the first phase and then possibly to other countries.
In parallel, it was established by both sides that the competent bodies of the European Union support the project and that there is a noteworthy interest in its funding.
Finally, the two sides discussed the requirement set by the Regulatory Authority for Energy of Greece for the implementation of the project, thus conduction of a Market Test by DESFA, in order to be demonstrated that there is satisfactory interest from the users.