The Czech Republic, which announced last year that it would completely cut off Russian natural gas, has recently significantly increased its imports of fuel from Slovakia, which is likely to contain some Russian gas. About this writes Bloomberg. The publication notes that these economically profitable supplies may stop at the end of the year, when the agreement that allows the transportation of gas from Russia through Ukraine to the EU countries ends.
Analysts point out that Central European countries currently have sufficient reserves, but could face rising supply costs if Russian flows are halted. Some regional traders are still turning to cheaper resources from the east, as Germany introduced an additional transit fee of 2.5 euros per megawatt-hour for gas deliveries from other destinations. Dominik Rusynko, an analyst at KBC Groep NV, believes that these financial conditions make the import of Russian gas more attractive for the Czech Republic.
Czech imports through Slovakia have increased sharply over the past year, despite the fact that the country does not have direct contracts with Russia’s Gazprom. According to the Czech operator Net4Gas, the volume of gas from the eastern direction in the total flows to the country increased to almost 74% this quarter, although part of these volumes goes in transit to Germany and Poland.
After the start of the war in Ukraine, the Czech Republic tried to diversify its supply by increasing imports from Norway and through a liquefied natural gas terminal in the Netherlands. However, such routes involve transport through several countries, and additional fees at the German border have made these deliveries more expensive.
According to energy research strategist Maggie Xueting Lin, it now costs €3.50 per megawatt hour to transport gas from Germany, adding about 8% to its total cost. According to the Ministry of Industry of the Czech Republic, it is this German fee that stimulates the restoration of Russian flows through Slovakia. The representative of the ministry, Marek Vosachlik, noted that the Czech Republic expects an increase in imports through Germany after the cancellation of the tax.
Czech energy company CEZ AS is actively working on diversifying supplies to reduce dependence on Russia. The company has reserved capacity at the EemsEnergyTerminal in the Netherlands, which covers a third of the Czech Republic’s annual demand. The capacity deal at the land terminal in Germany, which will be operational from 2027, will provide additional supplies capable of covering more than a quarter of the country’s annual needs.
