Commission welcomes breakthrough leading to gas flows from Slovakia to Ukraine
29 Apr 2014 10:17 AM
The
European Commission has welcomed the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) enabling gas flows from Slovakia to Ukraine, which took place yesterday
afternoon in Bratislava. José Manuel Barroso, President of the European
Commission, will attend the ceremony together with Slovakian Prime Minister
Robert Fico and Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan. The Commission acted as
a facilitator in the negotiations that led to yesterday’s breakthrough.
Along with the MoU, the gas pipeline operators concerned – the Slovakian
company Eustream and the Ukrainian company Ukrtransgaz – will sign a
Framework Interconnection Agreement today, laying out the technical details of
the foreseen solution.
José Manuel Barroso, President of the European
Commission, said: “I warmly congratulate all parties involved on
the breakthrough in the negotiations on gas flows from Slovakia to Ukraine.
This is an important first step to diversify Ukraine’s sources of gas
supply and contributes to greater energy security in Eastern Europe and the EU
as a whole. It shows the EU's strong commitment in support of Ukraine's
energy sector, which is also reflected in the economic and financial package
the Union has swiftly provided for Ukraine in the past weeks. I would like to
thank Energy Commissioner Oettinger and his team, who played a central role in
paving the way for today’s agreement."
Günther Oettinger, Commissioner for Energy,
said: “Today’s deal marks a milestone. It is a first step
for gas flows from Slovakia to Ukraine and strengthens the ties between the
EU’s energy market and Ukraine. Gas via Slovakia will bring a
considerable addition to the volumes that Ukraine can already import from
Hungary and Poland. Deliveries from EU Member States offer Ukraine access to
gas priced on the basis of fair and transparent principles. It is important in
this respect that Ukraine, particularly as a member of the Energy Community,
makes swift progress in aligning its legal and regulatory framework with the EU
energy legislation. This will increase investor’s confidence and help the
country to modernise its energy sector.”
Background
Currently, it is technically possible to ship gas from
Poland and Hungary to Ukraine. Last year Ukraine imported around 2 billion
cubic meters of gas from EU Member States.
Based on the solution which is presented in the MoU, the
existing and unused Vojany pipeline at Veľké Kapušany on the
Slovakian side will be modernised during a short construction period. There is
a clear perspective that 22 million cubic meters of gas a day can flow from
Slovakia to Ukraine via the Vojany pipeline as from autumn 2014. This
corresponds to approximately 8 billion cubic meters a year. Eustream will
swiftly check some technical details in order to be able to confirm the
implementation of this solution within a few weeks. Should this option
unexpectedly prove not to be feasible, the alternative would be to start with a
smaller volume and scale the pipeline up to 22 million cubic meters a day until
April 2015.
The
successful implementation of gas flows from the EU to Ukraine is a win-win
situation for both parties. It allows Ukraine to access various gas sources
– among them Norwegian gas or liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the global
markets – at competitive prices. As a member of the Energy Community,
Ukraine will ensure the implementation of the EU internal energy market
legislation. The approximation of the Ukrainian legal and regulatory framework
is a prerequisite for higher investor’s confidence and could lead to a
better use of Ukraine’s immense gas infrastructure, for example as
regards storage capacity.
However, the solution which has been sealed today is
only a first step in enabling gas flows from Slovakia to Ukraine. Further
options besides using the Vojany pipeline will be legally and technically
assessed in due course.
For further
information
On
EU-Ukraine energy cooperation: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/international/bilateral_cooperation/ukraine_en
.htm
Contacts :
Sabine
Berger (+32 2 29 92792)
Nicole
Bockstaller (+32 2 295 25 89)
For
the public: Europe Direct by phone 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 or
by email