Gas transit via Ukraine to drop by 90% once Nord Stream 2 launched – Gazprom

Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller states the transit of Russian gas via Ukraine will continue after the commissioning of the Turkish Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, whereas it will be reduced to a mere 10-15 billion cubic meters per year.

"There are neighboring countries and regions that border Ukraine on the part of Europe. No doubt, gas supplies to these regions will be carried out via Ukrainian territory. Another thing is that the volumes of gas will be lower," the Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted Miller as saying.

Answering the question about the possibility of concluding a new gas transit contract with Naftogaz of Ukraine, Gazprom CEO said that negotiations are coming. At the same time, he stressed that the contract terms will differ from those specified by the Stockholm Arbitration in the existing agreement.

In 2017, Russia's gas transit via Ukraine was estimated at 93.5 billion cubic meters, which was a record high over the past eight years.

Read alsoGazprom reserves almost $5 bln to pay fine to Naftogaz – Russian mediaAs reported earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin hopes that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline bypassing Ukraine will be completed, while another share of Russian gas could be supplied to southeast Europe via Turkish Stream.

The Nord Stream 2 project involves the construction of two strings of a gas pipeline with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of gas a year from the Russian coast via the Baltic Sea to Germany. A new pipeline is expected to be built next to Nord Stream 1.

On March 27, 2018, a permit was issued in Germany for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline across the entire German section of the Baltic Sea.

The construction of the gas pipeline is expected to begin in 2018 and be completed by the end of 2019. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko considers supporters of the construction of Nord Stream 2 Russia's accomplices in its hybrid war.

Read alsoNaftogaz to start recovery of US$2.6 bln debt from Russia's Gazprom in AprilAccording to Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolyev, Nord Stream 2 in no way contributes to the diversification of gas supplies to the EU and does not provide the European Union with access to new sources of gas. Moreover, the pipeline could deprive Ukraine of transit revenue, which was expected to reach about US$3 billion by the end of 2017.