Gazprom will no longer supply gas to Hungary via Ukraine

The Ukrainian gas transmission system operator reported that on October 1, 2021, from the beginning of the new gas day (07:00 am), the transit of natural gas through the territory of Ukraine in the direction of Hungary was suspended.

According to the company, no applications for gas transit were received, even though capacities from Ukraine to exit to Hungary were contracted for the entire gas year (from 01.10.2021 to 30.09.2022) in the amount of 24.6 million cubic meters per day.

Given that the import of natural gas from Hungary took place through a backhaul, there is no possibility of import from Hungary without transit.

“Hungary has received gas through the territory of Ukraine for decades, and the Ukrainian side has never violated its obligations. Moreover, the Ukrainian route is the most economically profitable, because it is the shortest way to supply gas to Hungary, as evidenced by the volume of trade between the companies of the two countries in recent years,” General Director of GTSOU Serhii Makohon said. “The monopolization of gas routes by Gazprom, which we are now observing, raises the question of the fundamental principles of the functioning of the EU gas markets - competition and transparency. The strengthening of the dominant position of one player and his use of leverage for obvious political purposes against the backdrop of a shocking rise in gas prices in Europe must be stopped. "

To recap, from October 1, 2021, a contract between Hungary and Russia for gas transmission of 4.5 billion cubic meters per year came into force, according to which natural gas will be supplied to Hungary via TurkStream.

Ukraine issued a statement saying that the agreement to supply gas to Hungary from Russia was "a purely political, economically unjustified decision" and damaged Ukrainian-Hungarian relations. Hungary subsequently accused Ukraine of meddling in its internal affairs after Kyiv criticized the signing of a new 15-year natural gas supply agreement with Russia's Gazprom.

The European Commission announced that it would check the terms of the gas contract between Hungary and Russia.