Report: Kiev wants Gazprom to maintain gas transit at 40 bcm/year

KIEV, Apr 11 (PRIME) -- Ukraine will insist on Russian gas giant Gazprom maintaining gas transit to the E.U. via the country at no less than 40 billion cubic meters per year after 2019, when Nord Stream-2 pipeline is launched, or the transit would make no economic sense, news agency Ukrinform reported on Wednesday citing Ukraine’s Energy Minister Igor Nasalik.

On Tuesday, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said that the company did not plan to abandon Ukrainian transit, but will keep it at 10–15 bcm after 2019, if Ukraine proves profitability of a new contract.

“Ukraine will never agree to these volumes as it would be economically unprofitable for Ukraine. We will have to invest our own money to pump these volumes,” Ukrinform quoted Nasalik as saying.

He also said that the European Commission assured him that it would like Ukrainian gas transit to remain. “We would fight to keep the transit above 40 billion cubic meters,” he said.

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