The gas transport operators of Ukraine and Slovakia – Ukrtransgaz and Eustream – have discussed technical aspects of the realization of reserve natural gas supplies using the Vojany-Uzhgorod gas pipeline.

Eustream said that a delegation of the Slovakian company visited Kyiv on April 25 and discussed slight changes to the memorandum with representatives of Ukrtransgaz and national joint-stock company Naftogaz Ukrainy.

After the signing of the document, Eustream will study the technical options for gas transportation via the Vojany-Uzhgorod gas pipeline in the shortest terms to accelerate the launch of the reverse transportation and increase the initially planned volume of gas supplies.

The press service of Ukrtransgaz told Interfax-Ukraine that the memo would be signed on April 28 in Bratislava.

Earlier Energy and Coal Industry Minister Yuriy Prodan said that the memo proposed by Slovakia foresees the start of reverse gas supplies to Ukraine from November 2014 in small volumes. Ukraine sees a possibility for starting supplies from July 1, 2014 even under the Slovakian memo.

He said that the signing of the memo would be a first step in starting gas reverse supply in large volumes.

As reported, Naftogaz Ukrainy from November 2012 started importing natural gas from Germany via Poland under contracts with RWE Supply&Trading GmbH. From April 2013, Ukraine started natural gas supplies from Hungary. Negotiations have begun with gas transport operators from Slovakia and Romania on the possibility of their delivering natural gas to the Ukrainian gas transport system.

In 2013, Ukraine imported 2.132 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Europe.

Naftogaz Ukrainy unites oil and gas production assets in Ukraine, and is the country's gas transit, underground gas storage, and oil pipeline transportation monopoly.