Ukrainian Transit: Its Role in Russian Gas Exports to Europe

The Importance of Russian Gas and Ukrainian Transit for the EU

The European Union currently imports two-thirds of its gas consumption (Eurostat 2014). The EU imports natural gas from a variety of sources. In 2013, the EU imported approximately 327.0 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas, most of which was delivered by pipeline from Russia, Norway, and Algeria. Russia is currently the largest supplier of EU gas imports (43.2 % of the total in 2013), followed by Norway (32.4 %), Algeria (8.7 %), and Libya (1.7 %). Liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports accounted for the remaining 14.0 %.

Russian gas is delivered to the EU by three main routes: via Ukraine, Belarus, and the “Nord Stream” pipeline. These different routes are illustrated in Map 1 below. In 2013, Russia exported approximately 141.2 bcm of natural gas to the EU, of which 69.5 bcm (49.3 %) was delivered via Ukraine (IEA 2015). Therefore, 21.3 % of EU gas imports were delivered from Russia via Ukraine in 2013.

Map 1

Russian...