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blaming the setbacks on the coronavirus pan- ensure greater independence at state institutions.
demic and the impact of a weaker Norwegian But Hochstein’s comments – and the resignation
krone. The projects in question are Martin Linge, of Ukraine’s central bank governor Yakiv Smolii
Johan Castberg and Njord Future. in July over what he said was “sustained political
pressure” – suggest otherwise.
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping Meanwhile, Poland’s competition watchdog
Europe’s oil and gas sector then please click here for UOKiK said on October 7 it had fined the Rus-
NewsBase’s EurOil Monitor. sian gas supplier Gazprom PLN29bn ($7.6bn) Members of
for going ahead with Nord Stream 2 without its
FSU: Political interference at Naftogaz consent. Gazprom’s financing agreements with the European
US businessman and former diplomat Amos its European partners effectively established Parliament have
Hochstein has resigned as an independent a de-facto joint venture, the regulator argues,
director on the supervisory board of Ukrainian meaning its approval was needed because of the voted strongly
national gas company Naftogaz, complaining pipeline’s impact on the Polish gas market.
of opposition to reforms and of political inter- Gazprom has vowed to appeal against the in favour of
ference. His departure comes after prosecutors decision, setting Poland and Russia on a course
recently accused the company’s management of for an arbitration dispute that could last years. adopting a legally
corruption, in a case suspected to be politically binding target for
motivated. If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
Hochstein complained that the company’s the former Soviet Union’s oil and gas sector then please the EU to curb
management’s efforts over the years to “create a click here for NewsBase’s FSU Monitor.
new corporate culture, transparent mechanisms GHG emissions
and an adherence to international standards GLNG: Outages and new plans
were resisted at every step of the way.” Equinor’s Melkoeya LNG terminal in Hammer-
Ukraine’s anti-corruption prosecutor’s office fest, Norway is expected to resume output on
has said it suspects Naftogaz’s top executives of January 1, 2021, having gone offline after it was
stealing UAH730mn ($26.3mn) of natural gas damaged in a fire last month, the company said
supplies in 2016-2017 in a treason case. Naftogaz in a regulatory statement on October 12. The fire
CEO Andriy Kobolev insists the company has occurred in one of the plant’s electricity-gener-
“nothing to hide”, while Hochstein has described ating turbines on September 28 and was extin-
the prosecutor’s suspicions as “unfounded guished the same day.
allegations.” This is one of several LNG facilities globally
“The old tactic of using prosecutors and audi- to be dealing with an unplanned outage recently.
tors for intimidation and retaliation is back,” One of the most notable is Chevron’s Gorgon
Hochstein said. “I can no longer stand by and be LNG terminal in Australia, where one train
used to endorse this negative trend, and it’s why remains offline while cracks in propane heat
I must voluntarily leave the board.” exchangers are being repaired. The other two
Hochstein’s departure is reminiscent of the Gorgon trains are scheduled to go offline next
resignation of all Naftogaz’s independent direc- year – though not both at the same time – and
tors in 2017 in protest over the authorities’ lack will be inspected for similar weld quality issues
of commitment to reform. President Volodymyr to the ones that required repairs in Train 2.
Zelenskiy has promised to fast-track reforms and In the US, meanwhile, Cameron LNG had

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