Ukraine: Kiev will not allow Russia to complete 'Nord Stream 2'
(Baonghean.vn) - Ukraine has complained about the reduction of Russian gas transit through Ukraine by Gazprom. This not only significantly reduces revenue, but also affects Ukraine's energy security. Therefore, for Kiev, the most important thing is not to allow the "Nord Stream 2" project to be completed.
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| The amount of Russian gas transiting through Ukraine has decreased significantly. Photo: Ria Novosti |
The head of the Ukrainian GTS operator, Sergei Makogon, complained about Russia's reduction in gas transit through Ukrainian territory, and said that it was important for Kiev not to allow the completion of the construction of Nord Stream 2.
"Transiting gas through Ukraine not only brings valuable revenue, but is also an important element of Ukraine's energy and military security," said Sergei Makogon.
According to the operator GTS Ukraine, in February the volume of natural gas transported to Europe via Ukraine decreased by 25% compared to January - to 2.91 billion cubic meters.
Gazprom is gradually reducing gas transit through Ukraine. Since the opening of the Turkish Stream, transit through Ukraine has been completely transferred to Türkiye, Greece and Bulgaria via new gas pipelines. Since April 1, gas supplies to Romania have been fully guaranteed from Bulgaria via the "Turkish Stream".
The head of the Ukrainian GTS operator said that in the south, the transit gas pipelines through Ukraine currently supply only Moldova. In addition, if the Turkish Stream continues to be transited through Bulgaria and Serbia, Gazprom will switch to the transit gas pipeline to Hungary.
"For Ukraine, this means losing another 10-12 billion cubic meters of gas transportation annually," said Sergei Makogon.
In late December 2019, Moscow and Kiev signed a package of agreements on continuing gas transit through Ukraine. Under the five-year contract, Gazprom is guaranteed to pump 65 billion cubic meters of gas in 2020 and 40 billion cubic meters in the following four years.
Major Russian gas projects:
- "Turkish Stream" is a gas export pipeline from Russia to Türkiye across the Black Sea, with a capacity of 31.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year. At the end of December 2019, the pipeline laying for the project's expansion in Serbia was completed along the entire 402 km from the Bulgarian border to Hungary. Commercial deliveries began on January 1, 2020.
- Nord Stream 2 is building two gas pipelines with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year, running from the Russian coast through the Baltic Sea to Germany. The gas pipelines also pass through the territories or exclusive economic zones of Finland, Denmark, and Sweden.
