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Europe May Face New ‘Gas War’ as Ukraine Is Unable to Pay for Fuel |
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 [27.05.06]
Following the talks between Russia’s Gazprom and Ukraine’s Naftogaz, experts predict a new threat to European energy security as Kiev again is not likely to pay for the Russian fuel. “The Voice of Russia” reports;
Gazprom`s Chief Alexei Miller and his Ukraine’s counterpart from Naftogaz Oleg Dubina met in Moscow to discuss how Kiev could timely pay for the Russian gas, including those amounts Ukraine needs to keep in its underground storage facilities for further transportation to Europe. The information provided by Naftogaz during the talks in Moscow proves that the Ukrainian company is facing serious financial problems and is unable to pay for the Russian has supplies. Gazprom`s official spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov comments:
Unfortunately, our colleagues from Naftogaz did not tell us anything optimistic. Obviously, Ukraine will find it quite difficult to pay for the gas it has received in May. We urged our partners in Ukraine to take every effort to fill all the storage during the summer to avoid problems in winter season. We also reminded them that in accordance with the treaty we signed in January, 2009, Russia will switch to 100% prepayments if Kiev fails to observe the commitments.
An expert from the Russian Institute of Energy and Finance, Vladimir Fegin, thinks the money shortage is the most acute problem in Ukraine now.
Ukraine has no money to be able to pump gas into the storage tanks. If the sides reach no agreement on the issue, Europe will again receive no fuel in winter.
In January Ukraine and Russia had a row over gas pricing and transit fees and thus 15 countries in Europe were left without gas, the consumers if Serbia and Bulgaria suffering most. Head of the Energy Development Foundation Sergei Pikin comments:
If Moscow and Kiev fail to achieve a compromise within the next few months, the situation will be critical again. To establish a consortium of European gas producers and consumers together with Gazprom appears to be the right way to avoid new ‘gas wars’, Sergei Pikin says.
[ (Source: ”The Voice of Russia”) russia-media.RU Murmansk & Shtokman News / FLAIT Murmansk ]
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