Ukraine to Import Gas from the EU through Hungary

Hungary has reached an agreement with Ukraine to supply natural gas to its northeastern neighbor with guaranteed capacity from January 1 next year, Serhiy Makokhon, CEO of the Ukrainian Gas Transmission System (HTS) has announced.

The Ukrainian side signed a cooperation agreement with the Hungarian gas transport company FGSZ on the guaranteed supply capacity. Under the contract, Ukraine will be able to purchase up to eight million cubic meters of gas per day from Hungary from the beginning of next year.

The most important aspect of the agreement, Makokhon said, is that it will give Ukrainian traders access to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the Croatian island of Krk, and will also diversify Ukraine's gas supply routes.

He cited the example of the eight million cubic meters of natural gas per day guaranteed by Hungary as an example of the daily gas consumption of the capital Kiev. "Together with the daily capacity available from Slovakia (27 million cubic meters), the total guaranteed capacity of gas imports to Ukraine increases to 35 million cubic meters per day," Makokhon explained. At the same time, he indicated that the contract has been signed for three months for the time being in order to coordinate and establish technical and operational processes. According to him, the guaranteed capacity from Hungary will increase from April 2022.

"This is the first time since 2014 that Ukraine has increased its guaranteed gas transport capacity from Europe," the Ukrainian CEO concluded.

The UNIAN news agency added that since 2015, Ukraine has not been buying gas directly from Russia, covering about 30% of its needs with purchases from European countries.