16.01.09

Gazprom has started supplying gas to Ukraine's gas transport system (GTS), but it hasn't reached European consumers: Kiev is blocking transit. Gazprom's explanation for this is that the amount of gas Ukraine requires for the technical purpose of pumping transit gas has been stolen. For the first time, Russia has accused the Ukrainian government of taking orders from Washington on gas issues.

Gazprom started test-supplies of transit gas to the Ukrainian GTS yesterday morning, via the Sudzha gas measuring station (GMS), in the direction of Europe. The initial supply volume was 76.6 million cubic meters per day. But the Ukrainian side blocked transit almost immediately. Gazprom Deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev said that Kiev wasn't letting Russian gas through to the European Union. "We cannot change the laws of physics: if the system is closed, we cannot ensure gas deliveries," said Medvedev, suggesting that Ukraine had no intention of honoring the commitments in the document it signed and opening its system for transit.

Alexander Medvedev said he doesn't rule out the possibility that some other country might be controlling the actions of Kiev, which is breaching the agreements reached earlier. He mentioned an agreement signed by Ukraine and the USA in December, without naming the specific document.

After a brief argument, Naftogaz Ukrainy admitted that it has blocked the pipeline. According to Naftogaz CEO Oleg Dubina, the Ukrainian side is unable to comply with Gazprom's wishes regarding gas transit. "The gas transport system operates as an integrated whole. If we complied with this proposal, we would be cutting off gas supplies to several regions of Ukraine - Lugansk, Donetsk, Odessa, and part of the Dnepropetrovsk region," said Dubina. He said that Naftogaz has sent Gazprom a proposal for pumping gas via the Valuiki and Pisarevka GMSs.

However, as Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said, the transit routes proposed by Ukraine pass through GMSs intended for delivering gas to Ukrainian consumers, not for export. The gas pipeline leading from the Sudzha GMS is a direct transit pipeline to Europe.

Gazprom reports that Naftogaz also rejected Gazprom's application for transit via the Sudzha GMS-Uzhgorod GMS route, which should carry 22.2 million cubic meters per day to Slovakia. Naftogaz's reason for rejecting this is that it needs to demand some sort of "transit guarantees for a substantial length of time." Alexander Medvedev said he was surprised by this: "We have the current contract for Russian gas transit, effective to 2013. We have the Monitoring Rules, signed yesterday by all sides. What other long-term transit guarantees could we need?"

Another obstacle to resuming gas transit is Kiev's demand for 140 million cubic meters to restore volumes in the pipelines. Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said: "This can only mean one thing: our Russian gas in the transit pipeline has been stolen, and the Ukrainians are admitting this directly."

Ukraine clearly isn't in any hurry to resume pumping gas. As Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said, the two sides still have to sign another document: technical regulations. And given recent experiences with the transit monitoring memorandum, when Kiev tried to add some amendments while signing, it may take some time before the latest document is signed. Yushchenko insists that his country hasn't used any Russian gas at all since January 1, and has no debts "to any Russian company for gas consumed in 2008."

Konstantin Borodin, head of the Energy Studies Center (Kiev), says that it could be another couple of months before Europe sees some gas - when the weather turns warmer and gas consumption in Ukraine declines. At present, Ukraine lacks the raw materials to ensure gas transit.

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Source: RBC Daily