Asharq Al-Awsat: Slovakia to deliver Ukraine gas, but wider fuel crisis lingers
Slovakia has agreed to deliver natural gas to Ukraine following talks in Kiev on Saturday, according to a statement published on Slovakian pipeline operator Eustream’s website.
The deal, between Eustream, Ukraine’s state gas company Naftogaz and its subsidiary pipeline operator, Ukrtransgaz, will implement reverse gas supply to Ukraine from and through Slovakia using mainly the Vojany–Uzhgorod pipeline.
Up to a fifth of Ukraine’s gas needs could be supplied through that currently unused stretch of pipeline. In talks in Kiev on April 24–26, European Commissioner for Energy Günter Oettinger had asked Slovakia to ship up to 10 billion cubic meters of gas by the end of 2015.
Eustream chair Tomáš Mareček has promised to ship over 3 billion cubic meters this year, with delays in the first shipments anticipated as technical adjustments are made to the pipeline.