This winter Europe is better prepared for a possible crisis in gas deliveries, and the situation is not so dramatic and serious as it was last winter when the supply of Russian natural gas was disrupted over a row between Ukraine and Russia, the European Union Deputy Director-General for Energy and Transport, Fabrizio Barbaso, has said.
This time Europe has greater gas reserves in storage, we have securedreversible gas flow through interconnections, and the spot market has securedlarge quantities of gas, Barbaso said after the seventh meeting of the EnergyCommunity Ministerial Council.
Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan told representatives of 23 countriesat the meeting that his country had secured funds to pay for Russian gas, andthe existing bilateral agreement between Ukrainian company Naftagas andRussia's Gazprom should facilitate monitoring their behaviour, Barbaso said.
Croatian Economy Minister Djuro Popijac said that Croatia was taking allnecessary measures to ensure the unobstructed supply of natural gas.
We are closely cooperating with Croatia's chief gas supplier Prirodni Plinand with the oil and gas company INA to ensure sufficient quantities of gas tomeet our needs, Popijac said.
Popijac said he had recently asked the Italian company ENI for additionaldelivers of gas from the shared gas well in the northern Adriatic in case ofany problems with supply, and was told that it would not be a problem.
We also expect Prirodni Plin and INA to secure additional quantities of gasthrough the supply route via Slovenia, Popijac said.
Popijac said that the construction of a pipeline running from Donji Miholjacto the Hungarian border would be finished next year, and that work would bestepped up on building new storage facilities.
