Alternative Transbalkan gas route excludes Russian supply to Ukraine, source says
KYIV, June 4 (Reuters) - An alternative Transbalkan gas import route for Ukraine has been developed that allows for cheaper imports to Ukraine that avoid Russian-origin gas, an Ukrainian industry source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
The route will be operational from June, the source said, adding it could allow Ukraine to import up to 1 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas in the more lucrative June-October period, including 100 million cubic meters (mcm) in June.
Ukraine currently imports gas via Poland, Slovakia and Hungary.
Formerly one of the largest importers of Russian gas, Ukraine has not been buying it since 2015 and in January, stopped the transit of Russian gas through its territory to Europe.
Ukrainian officials have previously said that Kyiv would not allow gas purchases from a country that is at war with Ukraine.
Ukraine said last month its energy regulator had approved a gas import mechanism that will avoid the high transit fees of gas supplied through the Transbalkan pipeline from Greece to Ukraine.
"The planning (of gas shipping via Transbalkan pipeline) took into account the condition that natural gas can be supplied to the entry point in Greece from Greek LNG terminals or the TAP pipeline with Azerbaijani gas or reverse flow from Italy," the source said.
"This minimises the possibility of transporting gas of Russian origin," he added. "All parties to the project agreed with this (the absence of Russian gas)."
The daily import capacity is expected at 7 mcm of gas.
"The cost of the route can compete with alternative routes for gas imports to Ukraine," he added.
The Kyiv government has said Ukraine needs to import at least 4 bcm of gas for the new 2025/26 heating season while analysts and former officials estimated the imports at about 6.3 bcm.
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