Naftogaz Signs Deal to Upgrade GTS

Ukrainian state-run gas company Naftogaz Ukrainy has today signed a deal with German industrial supplier Ferrostaal Industrieanlagen in a bid to upgrade its gas transport system (GTS) for at least 15 years.

The deal signed with Ferrostaal will see Naftogaz improve its Soyuz gas pipeline through the modernisation of equipment at the bar gas compressor station. The aim of the deal is to extend the life of the station's gas turbines and gas compressors for 15 years, Naftogaz said today, to reduce the consumption of fuel gas by gas turbines by about 28 per cent when operating at full capacity, and to increase the efficiency of the pipeline's gas compressors.

Ukraine is aiming to upgrade its GTS in a bid to increase energy security and independence as well as helping Ukraine to become a major gas transit route for the rest of Europe. Earlier this year, at a meeting with Ferrostaal heads, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said that there could be no alternative to upgrading the GTS.

"The gas conflicts of Ukraine and Russia in recent years have demonstrated the need for the joint coordination of actions on energy security..." he said in July. "It's clear that the Ukrainian gas transport system is in need of major modernisation."

Deputy Chairman of Naftogaz, Vadym Chuprun, who signed the deal with Ferrostaal Managing Director, Marc Neumann, today, said that modernisation of the GTS was of the utmost importance to Naftogaz.

"Naftogaz's top priority is to ensure the safety and security of the operation of Ukrainian gas transportation system," he said. "It is now clear that among all of the current options for natural gas supplies to Europe, Ukrainian gas transportation system is the most cost-effective."