{"id":44315,"date":"2025-01-02T02:28:33","date_gmt":"2025-01-01T20:58:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=44315"},"modified":"2025-05-06T10:17:35","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T04:47:35","slug":"russian-gas-transit-via-ukraine-ends-as-deal-expires-amid-conflict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/russian-gas-transit-via-ukraine-ends-as-deal-expires-amid-conflict\/","title":{"rendered":"Russian Gas Transit via Ukraine Ends as Deal Expires Amid Conflict"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Why in News?<\/li>\n<li>Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod Pipeline Overview<\/li>\n<li>Volume of gas supplied through Ukraine<\/li>\n<li>Possible impact<\/li>\n<li>Options available to the buyers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Why in News?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>On New Year\u2019s Day, Russian natural gas exports to Europe via Soviet-era pipelines through Ukraine were stopped as the transit deal expired, with no agreement reached between Moscow and Kyiv. This marks the end of Russia\u2019s oldest gas route to Europe.<\/p>\n<p>The Ukrainian government justified its decision as necessary for national security amid the military conflict.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod Pipeline Overview<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"image image_resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/vajiram-prod.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com\/Major_Gas_Pipelines_Across_Europe_aef70e49e4.webp\" alt=\"Major Gas Pipelines Across Europe.webp\" \/><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li>The pipeline transports gas from Siberia through Sudzha, located in Russia&#8217;s Kursk region, now under Ukrainian military control.<\/li>\n<li>It flows through Ukraine to Slovakia, branching into the Czech Republic and Austria.<\/li>\n<li>Transdniestria, bordering Ukraine, receives Russian gas via Ukraine.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Volume of gas supplied through Ukraine<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Decline in Russia&#8217;s Gas Exports to Europe<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Russia&#8217;s gas supply to Europe has drastically reduced since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.<\/li>\n<li>Moscow&#8217;s share of the European gas market, once 35%, has dropped to 8%.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Diminished Gas Transit via Ukraine<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>By December 2024, the EU received less than 14 bcm of gas via Ukraine, a sharp decline from 65 bcm\/year in 2020.<\/li>\n<li>Ukraine earns $800 million to $1 billion annually in transit fees, while Russia could earn approximately $5 billion from sales via Ukraine in 2024.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Europe&#8217;s Energy Diversification<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The European Union has offset the loss of Russian gas with liquefied natural gas (LNG) and non-Russian pipeline imports.<\/li>\n<li>Competitors like Norway, the United States, and Qatar have gained market share at Russia&#8217;s expense.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Possible Impact<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Impact on Russia and Gazprom<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Economic Losses<\/strong>: Ukraine faces a loss of $800 million annually in transit fees, while Gazprom loses nearly $5 billion in gas sales.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Decline in Gas Exports<\/strong>: Russian gas transit through Ukraine fell from 65 bcm in 2020 to about 15 bcm in 2023.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Collapse of European Market Share<\/strong>: At its peak, Russia controlled 35% of Europe\u2019s gas market, but the war has significantly eroded this dominance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Impact on EU<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Countries affected<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The Ukraine route serves Austria and Slovakia. Austria received most of its gas via Ukraine, while Slovakia takes around 3 bcm from Gazprom per year, about two-thirds of its needs.<\/li>\n<li>Slovakia has said the loss of Russian supply would not hit its consumption and that it has diversified supply contracts.<\/li>\n<li>Ukraine\u2019s gas supply remains unaffected as it no longer relies on Russian transit gas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Market Impact<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>EU gas prices reached record highs in 2022 but are unlikely to repeat due to the small remaining volumes of Russian gas and reduced dependency.<\/li>\n<li>The European Union has offset the loss of Russian gas with liquefied natural gas (LNG) and non-Russian pipeline imports.<\/li>\n<li>Competitors like Norway, the United States, and Qatar have gained market share at Russia&#8217;s expense.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Options available to the buyers<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Shutting Down Other Pipelines<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Yamal-Europe Pipeline<\/strong>: Closed via Belarus.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Nord Stream Pipeline<\/strong>: Severely damaged in 2022.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Alternative Routes and Adjustments<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>TurkStream Pipeline<\/strong>: Russia continues to export gas via TurkStream, supplying Turkey, Hungary, and Serbia.<\/li>\n<li><strong>European Union\u2019s Shift<\/strong>: EU countries have diversified their energy sources to reduce dependency on Russian gas since 2022.\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Slovakia:<\/strong> Diversifies gas supply from Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Poland.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Austria:<\/strong> Secured alternative supplies and prepared for the transition.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Czech Republic:<\/strong> Tapping into German pipelines, exempt from German gas levies, and supporting Slovakia with transit and storage capacities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Moldova\u2019s Challenges<\/strong>: Moldova, severely affected, plans to cut gas usage by a third.\n<ul>\n<li>Moldova receives 2 bcm of gas annually from Russia via Ukraine for Transdniestria, which generates power for the rest of Moldova.<\/li>\n<li>Moldova has diversified its sources and will reduce gas consumption by a third starting January 1.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Q.1. Why did Russian gas transit via Ukraine stop?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The transit deal expired on January 1, 2025, without renewal due to ongoing conflict. Ukraine halted the pipeline citing national security, ending Russia\u2019s oldest gas route to Europe.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Q.2. How is the EU mitigating the loss of Russian gas?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The EU offsets Russian gas losses through LNG imports and non-Russian pipelines. Countries like Norway, the US, and Qatar have gained market share, while Europe transitions to diversified and sustainable energy sources.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/news-today\/russia-gas-deal-europe-via-ukraine-expires-9754448\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> IE | <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/news\/international\/business\/what-happens-when-russian-gas-supply-to-europe-via-ukraine-ends\/articleshow\/116858735.cms?from=mdr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">ET<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Russia halts gas transit to Europe via Ukraine after the deal expires. EU diversifies energy sources with LNG and rivals like Norway and the US gaining market share.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":44316,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-44315","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44315\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}