OREANDA-NEWS. April 20, 2011. According to operational data for three months in 2011 through Ukraine was moved 30.3 billion cu. meters of natural gas that is to 2.7 billion cubic meters or 9,8% more than during three months of 2010.

As Minister of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine Yuriy Boyko said earlier, the Ukrainian gas transport system after the upgrade will be able to pump Russian gas to EU countries twice more than it is pumping now.

"Ukrainian GTS is one of the largest in the world and can pump about 200 billion cubic meters of gas a year even with insignificant investments in modernization. But Ukraine still pumps annually only 100 billion cubic meters of Russian gas - that is 80% of its total supplies in the EU", - the Minister of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine said.

Yuriy Boyko believes that the Ukrainian route of transit pumping of gas to Europe for Russian more advantageous than the construction of alternative pipelines bypassing Ukraine.

"Our position on this issue remains unchanged: the Ukrainian gas transit route economically, and historically if you want, more profitable for Russia than the construction of any alternative pipeline" - he said.