Page 109 - RusRPTFeb21

minute in December 2019 Gazprom will pay transit fees on the whole amount stated in the contract.
The contract provides for the transit of at least 65bn cubic meters of Russian gas in 2020, which is 178mn cubic meters per day.
Gazprom was sending about 180mn cubic meters per day through Ukraine’s pipes at the end of December but as soon as the contract expired on January 1 this year the volumes fell off dramatically to about 130mn cubic meters per day early January, Interfax reports.
Under the terms of the transit deal signed in December 2019 Russia is obliged to send 40 bcm every year in 2021-2024. Payment for the contracted volumes is guaranteed even if the smaller amount of gas is pumped through the Ukrainian gas transport system (GTS).
The amount of gas Gazprom is sending is radically reduced from earlier transit volumes and well below the capacity of Ukraine’s GTS which is able to carry some 140 bcm a year. Russia has already started rerouting some of the transit business via its own Nord Stream pipeline that has a 50bcm capacity and that could be doubled if work on the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline is every completed.
"The Ukrainian gas transmission system operator is ready to provide a larger volume of transit with the appropriate requests from Gazprom," Makogon wrote on Facebook on January 4
9.1.2 ​Automotive sector news
Russia's car and LCV sales (excluding BMW and Mercedes-Benz) declined 4.2% y/y to 95,213 units, ​according to data from the Association of European Businesses (AEB).
Analysts see the decline as quite moderate, given that some demand was pulled forward at the end of last year in anticipation of vehicle price increases. We continue to expect that the market will add 2-5% this year.
Sollers (Hold; 12-mo TP RUB300; ETR 15%) saw a 33% y/y decline in UAZ sales, with 1,305 units sold in January. Meanwhile, sales of the Ford Transit, which are consolidated by Sollers, increased 157% y/y to 909 units. We see strong demand for the Ford Transit from ecommerce as one of the reasons for such performance, although seasonally low absolute volumes in January often amplify the y/y fluctuations. While we continue to see the Ford Transit as the key near-term driver for Sollers, we remain cautious on the name due to uncertainties around the long-term prospects of its UAZ band and the company's strategy toward minority shareholders.
109 ​RUSSIA Country Report​ February 2021 www.intellinews.com