The report of the rating agency S & P Global Ratings notes how new routes for supplying natural gas to European countries, including the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, as well as the strategy of EU countries aimed at diversifying supplies, will affect the creditworthiness of gas pipeline operators in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

According to this expert assessment, new routes for gas transmission lines - for example, Nord Stream 2, Turkish Stream, and the Southern Gas Corridor - will alter the traditional business of companies that produce and transport blue fuel to the region.

Agency experts are confident that such gas pipelines as Nord Stream-2 in the Baltic Sea and Turkish Stream in the Black Sea, which are supposed to be commissioned in two years, will deploy substantial amounts of energy supplies from the traditional route of transportation through the territory of the Ukraine - and, as a result, from the countries of Central Europe.

“The creditworthiness of enterprises involved in gas transportation is likely to be under pressure due to increased competition between routes, increased volatility in transit volumes, the gradual expiration of ship-or-pay long-term contracts (transportation agreements for a fixed fee, regardless of the volume of products transported ed.) on traditional routes and high capital expenditure requirements" Elena Anankina, the credit analyst at S & P Global Ratings, states.

The combination of these factors will lead to an increase in investment in the new infrastructure of the European gas transportation system (GTS). However, the S & P clarifies that for a few more years the pressure on CEE operators will be somewhat relaxed - as long as the ship-or-pay contracts are in effect.

Also, agency experts state that the Ukrainian route for transporting Russian gas to Europe will also be used after the introduction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, although the volume of pumping of “blue fuel” will be noticeably less.

Source: Rusmininfo     l     KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: Rusmininfo