Page 10 - FSUOGM Week 41 2019

FSUOGM PIPELINES & TRANSPORT FSUOGM
Ukraine rejects extending old transit deal with Russia
UKRAINE
Ukraine wants a longer- term new deal.
A new long-term transit contract with Russia’s natural gas Gazprom, or extending the existing gas transit contract for one another year under the old rules is not acceptable to Kyiv, Ukrain- ian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk said on October 9.
“Ukraine and our gas transportation system start working according to European rules [...] We definitely need a new contract that will be based on the European [legislative] framework,” news agency Interfax quoted the premier as saying. “We also set the goal of obtaining a long- term contract, because extending for a year under the old rules simply does not suit us.”
Ukraine’s state-owned natural gas monopoly Naftogaz assumes that it will be cut off by Russia’s Gazprom from gas transit shipments via Ukraine from January 1 as its base-case scenario, Nafto- gaz’s executive director of Yuriy Vitrenko wrote on his Facebook page September 19.
The statement followed a meeting the same day in Brussels with Gazprom, which failed to start talks on a new contract for gas transit through the Ukrainian gas transmission system.
Kyiv believes that Russia will suspend deliv- eries of gas, including the transit gas to Russia’s European customers via Ukraine, on January 1, 2020, when the current contract for gas transit to Europe between Russia’s Gazprom and Ukraine expires. More than a third of Europe’s gas comes from Russia, and most of that goes through Ukraine’s pipelines.
“The contract is expiring, and the talks [on a new contract] haven’t started yet. Therefore, unfortunately, we need to continue preparations for the end of transit from January 1,” Vitrenko wrote.
Meanwhile, Russian Energy Minister Alex- ander Novak told reporters following the
meeting in Brussels that consultations between Russia, the EU and Ukraine were constructive, adding that Ukraine presented the regulatory framework for the operations of its gas trans- portation system in accordance with European regulations.
On October 9, Honcharuk added that con- sultations with Gazprom could last the next few months. “They will last at least a few more months. Of course, we expect that they will be able to be successfully completed this year, but we will see how it works out. Consultations are ongoing,” he said.
Meanwhile, Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolev said the same day that he sees no sense and ben- efit for the country to extend the transit contract with Russia’s Gazprom under the existing terms.
“It’s hard for me to imagine why the new company [the gas transmission system opera- tor], why the Ukrainian side might be interested in extending the old contract. If the Russian side says they want some short terms, other volumes, then it’s logical for us to take a position, and we are taking it, that this should be only a new con- tract, only under European law, only with the new operator,” he said at Ukrainian Gas forum inKyiv
Kobolev added that the new Ukrainian oper- ator had already handed over to the Russian side a draft interconnection agreement, which regu- lates the issue of network connection.
“Assoonasthesedocumentsaresigned,then we will be able to discuss the available capacities, how much capacities Gazprom needs, for how long, what tariffs can be. Therefore, I see no other way, and I see no reason for the Ukrainian side to agree to some other surrogate options. Why? What is the point?” he said, according to Inter- fax. ™
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