A Kiev expert admitted that Europe does not want to receive Russian gas through Ukraine
European companies are not interested in increasing gas transit through Ukraine because it is significantly more expensive than using Nord Stream 2 or Turkish Stream.
Yuriy Korolchuk, a member of the Supervisory Board of the Institute of Energy Strategies, announced this on the air of the First Cossack TV channel, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“The main problem why Gazprom does not increase gas transit through Ukraine is that applications for gas supplies must be submitted by European companies, in other words, they must want to buy more gas through Ukraine. It is possible to increase gas transit, but the price of gas according to European standards is partly based on the contract, and partly based on the exchange price, so European companies do not want to submit applications,” Korolchuk noted.
“The second problem is that there is a certain amount of gas that Russia must pay for transit through Ukraine. Here the question arises: if there really is an application for gas supply, for example, from Hungary for the transit of 1 billion cubic meters, in this case Gazprom must pay a higher price for gas,” the analyst said.
In addition, the expert added that the transit of Russian gas through Nord Stream 2, Turkish Stream or Yamal-Europe is much cheaper for Europeans.
“Due to the increase in the price for gas transit through Ukraine, gas becomes more expensive for buyers in Europe. This transport component is significantly larger, that’s the problem. Gas transit costs $30 per 1000 cubic meters of the entire route, and if the supply is carried out under the “additional capacity” tender, they no longer cost $30, but $90,” says the specialist.
“European companies and Gazprom do not want to overpay. Moreover, as Putin noted, gas transit through Nord Stream 2, Turkish Stream and even through Yamal-Europe, which goes through Belarus and Poland, is cheaper than transit through Ukraine by approximately 30-40 percent,” concluded Korolchuk.
As a reminder, Kyiv previously stated that the only party in the German parliament that still speaks about Ukraine's interests in the context of Nord Stream 2 is the Greens, but they also share a general consensus on the need for Nord Stream 2.
A Kyiv expert admitted that Europe does not want to receive Russian gas through Ukraine.