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In the gas market, Ukraine is “relatively protected,” Naftogaz director Andrei Kobolev said, commenting on a possible reduction in traffic following the completion of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
Ukraine is prepared for a scenario in which the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will be completed. This was stated by the head of NJSC “Naftogaz of Ukraine”, Andriy Kobolev “Ukrainian Tizhnyu” in an interview published on March 1.
“We have prepared for such a scenario. If you look at the figures for this summer, thanks to our underground storage facilities and due to full integration into the European gas transportation system, we will have a balance of energy resources and we will receive them at a price. fair, ”he said.
The Naftogaz director agreed that Ukraine risks “losing revenue from traffic and a security component,” but stressed that there will be no shortage of fuel.
“In the gas market, we are relatively protected and even re-export gas from underground storage facilities,” Kobolev said.
Answering the question of how it relates to the idea of buying gas from Russia, the head of the Ukrainian company stressed that “such agreements are impossible without a political component, which will be dictated by the Kremlin, and this in itself is a threat. “. to Ukraine, because it implies a usurpation of sovereignty. “
“I don’t think buying gas from Russia can be a purely commercial operation,” Kobolev said.
Nord Stream 2 is a gas pipeline that is supposed to connect Russia with Germany along the bottom of the Baltic Sea. The length of the route is more than 1200 km, the capacity of the new gas pipeline will be 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The cost of the project is reported to be € 9.9 billion, it is financed by Russia’s Gazprom and five European companies: Anglo-Dutch Shell, German Wintershall and Uniper, French Engie and Austrian OMV.
Authorities in the US, Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia consider Nord Stream 2 to be a threat to Europe’s energy security.
Construction of the gas pipeline began in 2018. In December 2019, construction froze when the US imposed sanctions on European contractors involved in the project. At that time, 93% of the pipeline had been completed, Nord Stream 2 AG reported.
A year later, on December 11, 2020, construction resumed. Until construction of the two pipeline lines is finished, a total of 160 km “with a little” remains, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on December 17. In February 2021, Gazprom announced that it intends to order Nord Stream 2 this year.
On February 23, it became known that 18 European companies have abandoned the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project or are in the exit stage. The reason for this was possible sanctions against the project by the United States.
On December 30, 2019, Naftogaz and Gazprom signed a new gas transit contract for five years. The minimum guaranteed pumping under the new “pump or pay” contract is 65 billion cubic meters of gas in the first year and 40 billion cubic meters each in the next four. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that under a five-year gas transit contract, Ukraine will receive more than $ 7 billion.
In 2020, 55.8 billion cubic meters of Russian gas were transported through the territory of Ukraine to the European Union; this is the lowest figure in seven years, as reported on January 2, 2021, LLC GTS Operator of Ukraine.
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