Naftogaz confirms negotiations on transit of Azerbaijani gas at Socar's initiative
Naftogaz is looking for alternative solutions in order not to stop the gas transmission system of Ukraine after the end of the agreement with Russian Gazprom, Oleksiy Chernyshov, the chairman of the board of Naftogaz of Ukraine, said in an interview with LIGA.net.
"For example, we were approached by businesses from Azerbaijan. In particular, the Socar company (Azerbaijan's largest state holding. – ed.). But now there is no ready solution. And it is too early to talk about it," Chernyshov said.
He confirmed that Naftogaz will not extend the transit agreement with Gazprom. Negotiations are not underway and are not planned.
"On the other hand, our GTS is one of the key assets of the state. It allows our country to be somewhat in the top league of the energy business. Because the GTS provides a fairly significant potential volume of transportation. And if we also mention our storage facilities, we understand, that this is a certain pole position," the head of Naftogaz explained.
Chernyshov believes that the GTS should work strategically.
"Because we have access to the sales market in the future, when Ukraine becomes a gas exporter. We have no right to stop this system. Because if we stop it, the European market will reorient itself to other suppliers in a few years," he said.
According to Chernyshov, in many countries transit issues are perceived quite populist.
"14 billion cubic meters of gas pass through our pipe per year. This is 4% of the total gas consumption of European countries per year. And this is peanuts. It is obvious that 4% cannot affect either the price or the shortage of gas. But we still hear there is a lot of hubbub from our neighboring countries of Central Europe regarding the possible termination of transit," said the head of Naftogaz.
In 2019, Gazprom and Naftogaz signed a five-year transit contract, according to which the Ukrainian company is the organizer of gas transportation. Its term expires at the end of 2024 and will not be extended.
On March 4, 2024, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Ukraine is ready to provide a gas transit service from Russia after the end of the contract, if the EU countries order it, namely Austria and Slovakia, which import gas from Russia through Ukraine.
In June, Bloomberg reported that European officials are discussing the continuation of gas supplies through Ukraine. In early July, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the agreement to replace Russian gas with Azerbaijani gas is "one of the proposals" currently being discussed.