Russia's Gazprom signed a new five-year gas supply deal with Slovenia's natural gas company Geoplin in Slovenia's capital, Ljubljana, the company said late Friday.
The new contract provides for the annual supply of 0.6 billion cubic meters of gas from Jan. 1, 2018 to Jan. 1, 2023, and constitutes an extension of the previous contract that expired on Dec. 31, 2017, the company said.
'This year marks 40 years since the start of Russian gas deliveries to Slovenia in 1978. Geoplin is our long-standing partner. I am confident that the new contract for natural gas supplies will reinforce the relations between our companies and open a new page in the history of energy cooperation between the two countries,' said Alexander Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Gazprom.
Russian gas supplies to Slovenia began in 1978, and up to 2017, more than 14 billion cubic meters of gas was delivered to Slovenia, including 607.2 million cubic meters in 2017 alone.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, Karl Erjavec and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Slovenia Doku Zavgayev attended the signing ceremony.
Geoplin, a major natural gas importer to Slovenia, is a partner of Gazprom Export in the Slovenian market.
By Murat Temizer
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr