The European Commission believes that even the member states most dependent on Russian gas could survive if supplies from Russia were completely cut off.
Foreign traders of the global gas market expect the continuation of Russian gas supplies through Ukraine after the expiration of the current transit contract. Bloomberg writes about this.
As the agency notes, it is already known that contracts for the first quarter of 2025, which started at the beginning of this year, fell by about 20%. This topic was also discussed on the sidelines of the international E-world Energy and Water conference recently held in Essen, Germany.
Also discussed there was a mechanism to expand supply to secure gas supplies, according to Bloomberg.
“According to one of the sources, Russia’s supply of supplies to the Ukrainian border may be a possibility,” the agency emphasizes.
However, the European Union has made it clear that negotiations on extending the current transit agreement with the Russian Federation are unlikely, Bloomberg writes. Ukraine also stated that although it receives transit fees under the current contract, it will not renew the contract.
According to the agency, actual Russian flows through the transit pipeline accounted for less than 40% of the contracted volume after Russia invaded Ukraine and sharply cut off supplies to the EU.
But as the agency notes, Russian gas remains important to the EU and flows through other routes, including through Turkey. Additionally, Russia is the second largest supplier of liquefied gas to Western Europe after the United States.
The Russian Federation also states that gas supply through Ukraine can be continued. Therefore, Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov made it clear in January that gas transportation to Europe could continue after 2024, as other methods of distributing gas through Ukraine could be explored.
The same view was expressed by Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, who said in January that Russian gas supplies through Ukraine could be resumed.
Deliveries from EU
At the same time, the European Commission believes that even the member states most dependent on Russian gas can survive if the supply from the country is completely cut off; However, according to experts, problems may arise. The EU is still considering extending demand-cutting measures until next winter, one insider said.
“The main problem is the small number of alternative supply routes. Last year, about 14 billion cubic meters passed through the Ukrainian route, and almost half of them went to Austria,” agency experts said.
But there are other ways to obtain Russian gas. Thus, it will be possible to import up to 4 billion cubic meters of volume to Turkey via the Turkish Stream pipeline, and the rest will be covered by LNG imports.
Additionally, Slovakia can receive gas from Poland, and the Netherlands, Italy and Germany can support Austria and the Czech Republic.
Let us remind you that Ukraine has the largest gas storage facilities in Europe with a volume of 30 billion cubic meters. Our entire country can offer approximately 15 billion cubic meters of water to European partners.
Let’s add this in 2024 Transit of Russian gas You can actually stop by passing through Ukrainian territory. Reason: The five-year contract with Russia expires in December.
Source: Focus
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