Alexander Ageyev said the Belarusian side had discussed the issue in the latest round of negotiations with Russian natural gas giant Gazprom, and that the project was a promising undertaking. “There is no shorter route for Gazprom to transport its natural gas to Western countries except through Belarus. The situation in Belarus is stable and Beltransgaz is a reliable partner that fulfills the obligations specified in its contracts,” the minister said.
According to Ageyev, the natural gas needs of West European countries will not be fully satisfied by the North European subsea gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea. “The additional gas pipeline segment across Belarus will be 570-600km long, and the route will be much shorter and the project will be less costly,” he said. The Belarusian segment of the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline is 575km long, and three of the pipeline’s planned five compressor stations have been commissioned. Last year, Russian natural gas transit across Belarus amounted to about 23bn cum.