Ukraine Uses Hungarian Route for Gas Supplies

Ukraine plans to import 5 billion cubic meters of gas a year via Hungary, a government minister has said.

The gas will be purchased on spot markets, Minister of Energy Eduard Stavitsky told journalists in Budapest while on a visit to the Hungarian capital.

Stavitsky said the natural gas will be transported to Ukraine under a contract between German utility RWE and Naftogaz of Ukraine.

The minister said it was technically possible for gas supplies from the Hungarian side to Ukraine to be 3-3.5 million cubic meters of gas a day -  "at the least ".

"But in the course of one-two month [period], the technical component will amount 15 million cubic meters a day at the least,” Stavistky said. He added that the total import would be around 5 billion cubic meters (bcm) a year, noting that the price of natural gas on spot markets is around $380 (€295) per thousand cubic meters.

The country's prime minister, Mykola Azarov, has also referred to Hungarian co-operation in energy supplies, thanking the people of Hungary in a statement posted on the government website. Azarov formally announced the commencement of imports of gas through Hungary.

Meanwhile, Gazprom chief executive Alexey Miller has met Ukrainian deputy prime minister Yuri Boyko in Moscow. A Ukrainian government statement merely stated that the transit of Russian gas to Europe, and "tactical" issues, were on the agenda.

See also: Ukraine Considers More Gas From Europe