Hungary - Slovakia Pipeline to Proceed

Slovakia's Eustream and Hungary's OVIT have signed a deal to built a 115-kilometer pipeline between the two countries.

Ovit CEO Peter Gopcsa said implementation is scheduled to start in mid-2013, with commercial operation scheduled for January 1, 2015.

The project valued at over more than €100 million will be co-funded with €26.7 million in European Union support.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Slovak counterpart Iveta Radicova signed a deal in January to connect their natural gas networks as part of efforts to secure alternative energy supplies.

At the January signing Radicova called the gas pipeline project deal a “first step bringing greater independence for Slovakia’s energy supplies and at the same time an important component for the future energy security of the entire European Union.”

Almost 98% of the total consumption of natural gas in Slovakia is imported, with almost 100 percent of that supplied by Russia.  This ranks Slovakia together with countries as  Finland, Bulgaria or Austria as nations which are almost 100% dependent on Russian gas.

The north-south gas link between the two countries was  originated as a result of the supply crisis which struck the region as a result of a dispute between Russia and the Ukraine. Russian gas deliveries were halted, severely impacting Slovakian industry.

The Slovak gas company Slovenský plynárenský priemysel, a.s. and Gazprom entered into a long term gas supply agreement in 2008 for a period of ten years.