EU ministers to meet in Luxembourg over Russian gas: what awaits Ukraine

The energy ministers of 27 EU member states will meet to discuss the issue of Russian gas supplies. In particular, they will discuss various plans to replace Russia in the EU energy market, as well as the role of the Ukrainian gas transportation system.

According to Bloomberg, the meeting in Luxembourg will be focused on the EU's readiness for the coming winter after the end of agreement on the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine, which will expire on January 1.

In an effort to diversify gas supplies and ensure energy security, the EU is reducing gas consumption and increasing renewable energy capacity more rapidly.

Negotiations are also underway to replace Russian gas transit flows, with a high probability that Russian gas will be replaced by supplies from Azerbaijan. However, the deal is far from realization - sources say that the decision is likely to be made at the last minute or even early next year.

However, with limited supplies, Azerbaijan's exports to Europe would require an exchange with Russia, which would make such a deal politically controversial. Alternatively, Azerbaijan's national energy company SOCAR could replace Gazprom and start selling gas to Europe or organize transit through Ukraine.

For uninterrupted transportation through Ukraine's gas transportation system, the volume of gas needs to reach about 10-11 billion cubic meters. Lower volumes will require additional gas pumping, which will make this plan unprofitable.

Earlier, it was reported that the termination of Russian gas transit through Ukraine will not affect European consumers. Instead of it, Europeans buy fuel from Norway and the United States. Europe's readiness to do without supplies from Russia is also evidenced by the fact that, according to the Gas Infrastructure Europe energy group, Germany's gas storage facilities are already almost 96% full. It became possible thanks to stable supplies from Norway and increased imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States.

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