Ukraine's GTS ready to work in 'zero' transit conditions - operator

MOSCOW. July 6 (Interfax) - The Gas Transmission System (GTS) of Ukraine is ready to work in conditions of "zero" transit, the operator's head, Serhiy Makogon, told reporters.

"We have always been preparing for a 'zero' transit scenario [...]. Our system can work without transit. Yes, it will be a non-standard, off-design mode, but we were preparing for this," he said.

The operator also has plans to conduct large-scale optimization of the system and its use in the absence of Russian gas transit to Europe.

"It will be necessary to carry out very extensive optimization, we will no longer need such GTS capacity. We understand that most likely, in three to five years, Europe will completely abandon Russian gas and there will no longer be an actual need for transit through the Ukrainian GTS," Makogon said.

Makogon sees the transportation of biomethane, production of which could reach 2 billion cubic meters from organic raw materials within the country in three to five years, as well as hydrogen and hydrogen-methane mixture with methane, as new lines of business when using the gas transmission system of Ukraine.