Despite the military aggression, Ukraine was and remains a reliable partner and is ready to provide free capacity in the strategically important process of transporting natural gas from the Caspian Sea to the member states of the European Union.
This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine Mykola Kolisnyk during the Ninth ministerial meeting of the Consultative Council of the Southern Gas Corridor in Baku (Azerbaijan). The meeting was chaired by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and attended by the President of Romania, Klaus Iohanis, and the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simpson.
The participants discussed the results and plans to increase gas transportation capacity to the EU.
“In a few months, the pumping season will begin. Most of the PSGs of the EU countries are filled, which contributes to the increase of interest in Ukrainian PSGs. The key solution is based on the use of the existing infrastructure – the capacity of the Trans-Balkan Gas Pipeline. For the Operator of the GTS of Ukraine, this is an opportunity to attract new customers of services at interstate connection points”, Mykola Kolisnyk said.
The deputy minister also emphasized that today Ukraine is a full-fledged partner of the parties within the framework of cooperation in the oil and gas complex.
“One of the key infrastructure projects within the framework of cooperation with Azerbaijan is the Euro-Asian oil transport corridor project to create a new oil transportation route from the Caspian region to EU markets. We are interested in the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project and are ready to cooperate in the framework of diversification of natural gas supply routes,” he added.
Mykola Kolisnyk emphasized that the strategic interest of Ukraine is cooperation with the EU, the USA, Turkey and Azerbaijan, including to weaken Russia’s influence in the southern direction.
