Slovakia Signs Pilot Contract for Natural Gas from Azerbaijan
Slovensky plynarensky priemysel (SPP), a Slovak state-owned energy supplier, has signed a short-term contract to buy natural gas from Azerbaijan. The pilot contract was announced on November 12.
For several years, European countries and Ukraine have been negotiating with Azerbaijan to replace Russia as a supplier of natural gas. This comes as the deal between Russia, Europe, and Ukraine is set to expire in December 2024.
SPP said that it has diversified its gas purchase contracts with major energy companies such as BP, Exxon Mobil, Shell, Eni, and RWE. The company also has a “safety cushion” of up to 150% of customers’ consumption in case of any disruptions.
“We are taking measures to guarantee safe gas supplies to our customers, from large industrial customers to households, in any situation,” said SPP CEO Vojtech Ferencz.
If Russia stops supplying gas through Ukraine, the southern transit route through the Turk Stream pipeline across the Black Sea could become important. Some Russian or Azerbaijani gas might go through this pipeline.
Slovakia is heavily reliant on Russian energy supplies. If it loses Russian supplies, it would have to buy all the volume it needs from another source and physically transport it to Slovakia, costing at least 140 million euros more.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said that negotiations are underway with the EU, Moscow, and Kyiv to transport Azeri gas after Ukraine stops transiting Russian gas. However, Europe’s turn to Azerbaijan has been criticized for simply bringing the same gas to Europe but with extra steps.
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