If the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is launched and the transit of Russian gas through the Ukrainian gas transportation system is reduced, Kiev counts on Turkmen gas. This is reported by the independent oil and gas online magazine TEKNOBLOG quoting GTS Operator of Ukraine LLC CEO Sergiy Makogon.
“We will continue to struggle against Gazprom and seek the support of the European Union to open free gas from Central Asia to Europe in transit.Ten years ago, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan could sell gas to Europe in transit through Russia… I believe that Europe would be interested in these sources, and we will focus on this”, the company head explained.
TEKNOBLOG notes that the Ukrainian GTS is capable of transporting 145 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Russia to Europe. But next year, transit, according to a contract between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, will amount to only 40 billion cubic meters.
“We will have to reduce our capacity to cut costs, as we understand that in five years we need to have a possibility to ensure socially acceptable tariffs in the event that transit by Gazprom is lost”, GTS Operator of Ukraine LLC CEO Sergiy Makogon said.
A few days earlier, Russian media reported that Gazprom did not rule out the suspension or the complete cancellation of the Nord Stream 2 project in the event of a sharp change in the political situation. This was stated in the memorandum for the new placement of the holding’s bonds.
“When carrying out our large international projects, such as the Turkish Stream and the Nord Stream 2, we have faced and continue to face risks associated with a change in the political situation in various regions, which causes tension between countries and a change in the positions of our partners and regulatory bodies in relation to various aspects of projects.
In some cases, such changes may result in the impossibility of completing or inappropriateness of the project, and therefore in the suspension or cancellation of the project”, the document says.