Slovakia’s national gas importer SPP has signed a deal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies with ExxonMobil to further secure the country’s gas supplies.
The agreement comes as most European countries are looking to secure alternative sources to reduce dependence on Russian gas.
SPP CEO and board vice-chairman Richard Prokypčák said: “Concluding a contract with such a strategic partner as ExxonMobil opens up new possibilities for us in the availability of natural gas and LNG.
“Deliveries of gas and liquefied gas from various markets and terminals in Europe, for which we have secured physical transport capacity to Slovakia, are becoming a permanent and integral part of SPP’s business portfolio.”
SPP said it has secured arrangements from LNG terminals in Italy and Croatia for the transportation of LNG to the landlocked central European country.
Slovakia has been mostly served by Russian gas via Ukraine and uses approximately five billion cubic metres of gas annually. The country secured additional LNG supplies and piped gas from Norway.
SPP said in a statement: “By concluding diversification contracts, the company can currently cover more than 65% of its customers’ consumption from sources other than Russian.
“The volume of gas pushed by SPP into storage tanks to date, together with regular diversified deliveries, give the company enough optimism that it will manage the winter season 2022/2023, without affecting supplies to its customers.”
Reuters recently reported that Exxon Mobil and Shell launched the sale of their 50-50 Dutch natural gas producing joint venture (JV), NAM.