Slovakia begins Russian gas imports via TurkStream, plans to double supplies by April

Slovakia’s largest gas company, SPP, has started importing Russian natural gas through the TurkStream pipeline as of February 1, CEO Vojtech Ferencz told the local daily Dennik N.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C-R), Russian President Vladimir Putin (C-L) and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (4-R) and Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borissov (C-L) attend the opening ceremony of the Turkstream Project in Istanbul, Turkey, 08 January 2020. TurkStream will directly connect the large gas reserves in Russia to the Tur

EPA/ALEXEY DRUZHININ / SPUTNIK / KREMLIN POOL

Under this new arrangement, supplies are set to double from April onward.

SPP has a long-term contract with Russia’s Gazprom until 2034 and, according to Ferencz, “its termination is not under consideration.” The decision to switch to TurkStream, which runs from Russia’s Krasnodar region to Turkey and then on to the EU, was made to lower energy costs, Ferencz added.

TurkStream is now the last active pipeline directly linking Russia with the EU, after Ukraine cut off Russian gas transit at the beginning of the year. Energy security was a central topic during Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s December visit to Moscow, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A separate Slovak parliamentary delegation also discussed the matter during a meeting in January with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who reportedly accused the United States of attempting to destroy the TurkStream project.

(jh)

Source: PAP, Reuters