European officials are negotiating to maintain gas supplies through a pipeline through Ukraine, Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter, APA reports.
European governments and companies are discussing with their Ukrainian counterparts how to maintain the flow of gas into 2025. One option under discussion, according to the agency’s interlocutors, is for European companies to buy and pump gas from Azerbaijan into Russian pipelines that run to Europe. Such an agreement would allow Europe to avoid the awkwardness of buying Russian gas at a time when it is “trying to cut Moscow’s revenues.”
“There are two factors that we always have to keep in mind. One is that Ukraine has incredible transit and storage infrastructure that needs to be used, and Ukraine is predisposed to use that infrastructure because it offers many advantages,” Oleksiy Chernyshov, chief executive officer of state-owned Naftogaz of Ukraine, told Bloomberg News.
He ruled out any plans involving cooperation with Russia’s Gazprom, but said gas supplies from Azerbaijan “may have some future.”
The talks are at an early stage, and decisions may not be made until the end of the year, when the transit agreement with Gazprom expires and the European winter begins. Events on the battlefield could also play a role. Many details still need to be agreed upon, and there is no certainty that a deal will be concluded.
The contract between Naftogaz Ukrainy and Gazprom was signed on December 30, 2019. It expires on December 31, 2024. The agreement provided for the pumping of 225 billion cubic meters of gas: 65 billion cubic meters in 2020 and 40 billion cubic meters over the next four years. Under the terms of the agreement, Gazprom must pay about $1.25 billion per year for transit. At the end of October 2023, Naftogaz Chairman of the Board Oleksiy Chernyshov said that there were no plans to extend the contract.
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