The head of OMV warned about the risk of stopping the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine

The transit of Russian gas through Ukraine may stop in the near future, said the head of the Austrian oil and gas concern OMV Alfred Stern in an interview with the publication Presse. According to him, this is a serious threat to Austria’s energy security.

According to him, the risk is due to the fact that the pipelines pass through the territory of a country where “military operations take place every day.” In addition, Russian and Ukrainian companies will have to sign a new transit contract after the current year. As Mr. Stern emphasized, European officials, businessmen and politicians have great doubts that this agreement will ultimately be extended.

“There is a risk, and it is very high. But we insured ourselves against it through diversification. We are ready,” emphasized the head of OMV.

Last December, the Austrian Ministry of Climate and Energy called Gas Connect Austria to complete the project to extend the pipeline to Germany. With the help of this project, the country is expected to be able to reduce its dependence on Russian gas.

At the end of 2019, Ukraine and Gazprom signed an agreement on the transit of Russian gas to Europe, which is valid until December 31, 2024. The Washington Post wrote that the Ukrainian authorities are lobbying to maintain the transit of gas and oil from the Russian Federation for fear of losing profits. Minister of Energy of Ukraine German Galushchenko considers it unlikelythat the parties will be able to agree on a contract extension. According to Forbes.ua, the Ukrainian authorities want to make the country an “energy hub of Europe” by 2050.

About the situation on the market – in the material “Kommersant” “Gas has found markets”.

Alexander Kislov