Slovakia’s government is planning to increase its intake of Russian pipeline gas under a temporary EU exemption, reversing earlier commitments to phase out Russian energy supplies in a controversial move amid a growing bloc-wide crackdown on Russian fossil fuels. The exemption allows Bratislava to continue drawing from Gazprom supplies until 2027, aligning with a long-term contract that runs through 2034.
Hungary and Slovakia are currently getting their Russian natural gas supply via the TurkStream pipeline that runs under the Black Sea to Turkey and then on to Eastern Europe. According to one Bulgarian energy analyst from the progressive think-tank Center for the Study of Democracy, the existence of this pipeline can prolong the European Union’s reliance on Russian gas. Indeed, it has already increased Russian gas imports to Central and Southeastern Europe from some 30% back in 2021 to over 50% as of last year, Martin Vladimirov wrote in an op-ed for Reuters.
President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russian gas output rose by 8% in the first four months of the year to 246.4 bcm.
A big shift is brewing for Caspian Basin energy exports. In a diplomatic about-face, Turkmenistan has signaled its readiness to develop a Trans-Caspian pipeline that potentially could increase natural gas deliveries to the European Union.
Only three companies traded more Russian liquified gas, two of them Russian, while only four countries supplied more to Shell’s traders in 2022.
On April 13, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev paid an official visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. While there, Aliyev met with his counterparts, the members of the Bosnian tripartite presidency, Željka Cvijanovi?, Denis Be?irovi? and Željko Komši? (Azertac, April 13).
The European Commission has proposed a deal to accelerate natural gas imports from Egypt in a bid to reduce its reliance on Russian gas.
Russia’s gas giant Gazprom confirmed it had completely halted exports to Finland at 04:00 GMT on Saturday.