The main gas buyer in Slovakia SPP signed a short-term pilot contract for the purchase of natural gas in Azerbaijan. Later, they want to consider a long-term agreement to stop the supply of Russian gas through Ukraine.
This is reported by Reuters.
The agreement between the Russian Federation and Ukraine on the export of Russian gas to Europe through Ukrainian territory expires at the end of 2024. So Slovakia and other EU countries are starting to look for alternative sources, one of them was Azerbaijan.
Russia said it was ready to continue supplying gas through Ukraine, but due to the war, Ukraine refused to participate in negotiations with the Russian Federation regarding the export of gas through its territories.
Thanks to contacts with various gas suppliers, SPP has access to gas that covers up to 150% of consumption. These stocks may increase.
SPP said that Slovakia also has diversified transit routes for supplies in the event of a stoppage of transit through the pipeline passing through Ukraine, in particular the pipeline from Germany through the Czech Republic.
The company says that the southern transit route through the Turkish Stream pipeline across the Black Sea will be important: if Ukrainian transit stops, some Russian or Azerbaijani gas will be able to pass through this pipeline.
General Director of SPP Vojtech Ferenc stated that stopping gas transit through Ukraine and searching for alternatives will be $148.6 million more expensive than usual.
"If the company loses Russian supplies and buys all the necessary volume from another source and physically transits it to Slovakia, it will cost it at least €140 million more," he said.
- Slovakia and Hungary also had problems with the supply of Russian oil this year. Babel talked about it in detail here.
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