By KYIV. Nov 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine (GTSOU) LLC and Slovak operator Eustream a.s. agreed on the extension of the increased guaranteed capacity of 42 million cubic meters of gas at the Budince interconnection point until March 31, 2023, according to a GTSOU press release on Tuesday.
"We are grateful to our Slovak partner, GTS operator, for cooperation that is beneficial to all parties of the market. GTSOU, together with colleagues from Ukrtransgaz, constantly encourages companies to store gas in Ukrainian storage facilities – with their services [short-haul + customs warehouse], as well as the opening of new supply routes to Ukraine," Pavlo Stanchak, acting general director of the GTSOU, said in the press release.
According to him, all of the above factors are prerequisites for the creation of a gas hub in Ukraine.
As the company added, the agreement between the GTSOU and Eustream a.s. is positive not only for nonresidents (due to the possibility of storing gas in Ukrainian underground storage facilities), but also for Ukrainian customers, in particular because of the opportunities for gas imports to Ukraine.
In addition, according to the forecast data of the Energy Community Secretariat, after the Polish-Slovak interconnector point is launched at full capacity, customers may be interested in the LNG supply route after its regasification Poland-Slovakia-Ukraine, the GTSOU informed.
"The delivery route may be one of the most attractive in the region, given the relatively short distance of gas transportation from the LNG terminal, or from the VTP [virtual trading point] to Ukraine," the company said in a press release, citing a SEEGAS report (The South East European Gas).
According to the GTSOU, over the past year, the operator managed to double the guaranteed capacity for gas imports from Europe to Ukraine, in particular, to receive additional 15 million cubic meters of gas from Slovakia from February 4.
