Slovakia is 85 percent dependent on Russian gas: Replacing it will not be easy, these are options
The issue of diversion from Russian oil and gas is currently resonating throughout the European Union (EU). While the supply of Russian oil by tankers since next year and the supply of oil pipelines over the next up to three years, changing gas suppliers will be more difficult.
In the future, Slovakia could be supplied with gas from the USA, the Persian Gulf region or Norway, said Richard Kvasňovský, Executive Director of the Slovak Gas and Oil Association (SPNZ), in the TASR discussion program. The EU’s energy security was also discussed at the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE).
Slovakia is 85% dependent on Russian gas. One of the ways to replace it is the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by tankers to ports in the Mediterranean or the Baltic Sea and its transport to our territory by gas pipelines. However, there is great interest in this gas among other EU countries as well, and the large capacity of LNG terminals is limited.
The CEO of SPNZ emphasized that Russia is one of the world’s three largest LNG producers after the USA and Qatar. Gas can also be obtained from Algeria, the Gulf countries or Australia. “Some geographical proximity must also be taken into account“Kvasňovský pointed out. Transport costs are also significant. Apart from the USA, Africa or the countries of the Persian Gulf are therefore possible for Europe.