(Bloomberg) -- Slovakia aims to have a deal by the end of the year that will allow natural gas to continue to flow from Russia through Ukraine, Denisa Sakova, the nation’s deputy prime minister and economy minister said.
The volume of gas being discussed is 15 billion cubic meters a year and negotiations continue with several partners who will be able to deliver and transit the fuel, she told reporters after the Energy Council meeting in Brussels.
It’s a sign that European buyers are pushing hard for a deal as time runs out to find a solution. What’s not yet clear is whether Ukraine will agree to the terms and the final decision is likely to be made at a political level.
“We would like to close the negotiation by the end of this year,” she said. “Hopefully we will close it but it depends on other partners.”
Slovakia is a key remaining buyer of Russian gas flowing via Ukraine. The transit deal expires at the end of the year with no alternative yet agreed. Several options have been floated to keep gas flowing, including with the help of intermediaries.
The discussions have gained momentum with just a little over two weeks left until Dec. 31, when a five-year deal between Russia and Ukraine to bring the fuel to central European nations expires. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal will speak by phone Monday evening about gas transit to Slovakia through Ukraine.
Sakova declined to disclose details of the negotiations.
Slovakia is seeking a solution for the next two to three years and efforts to ensure ample inventories and diversified supplies are sufficient in the near-term, she said.
Slovakia consumes about 4.5 billion cubic meters a year. There is also requirement for gas from other nations in the region for the next few years, she said.
The European Union aims to get rid of Russian gas by 2027 and has lined up alternatives such as liquefied natural gas from global suppliers.
“We are fully aware of this fact, but until 2027, somehow we have to fulfill requirements of Slovak business and household customers,” she said.
European gas prices have been volatile as inventories are being depleted faster than usual amid colder and windless weather at the start of the winter.
--With assistance from Elena Mazneva and Priscila Azevedo Rocha.
(Updates with detail from fifth paragraph)
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