Ukraine in energy talks with Turkey, Azerbaijan

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

Ukraine, which is working toward diversifying its gas supplies, is currently holding an active dialogue with Azerbaijan and Turkey on the implementation of joint projects in the energy sector, said Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych at Davos, according to a Baku-based news portal yesterday.

“We have held a round of negotiations and two protocols are being prepared for signing,” said Yanukoych, following his Jan. 26 meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, according to the Azerbaijani website Trend.az.

“There are technical issues that need to be considered by specialists, undoubtedly. However, Ukraine will continue to work on the transportation of Caspian gas, both as a gas consumer and as a country that can take part in the construction of gas transport systems involving our resources,” said Yanukovych.

After Russia’s gas giant Gazprom turned off the taps to Ukraine in 2009 following a series of disputes over gas prices and unpaid bills, Ukraine has attempted to diversify its gas sources to supply gas through joint international energy projects. These projects include suppliers Azerbaijan and Turkey, which have turned into energy transfer hubs in recent years.

The president said trilateral negotiations are underway between Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Turkey on cooperation in energy sector projects. In the negotiations the parties “practically confirmed their interest in their projects,” said Yanukovych.

Soon, Ukraine will sign two documents with Azerbaijan to supply gas to an LNG terminal and for establishing a Ukrainian-Azerbaijani energy firm to develop the project to build the facility.

It is expected that Spanish company Soccoin will complete the feasibility study for the Ukrainian LNG project this year. The cost of the terminal is expected to be nearly $1 billion. The Ukrainian LNG terminal project will include a marine terminal for liquefied natural gas, with a total capacity of 10 billion cubic meters.