The national joint-stock company Naftogaz Ukrainy made a demand for the Russian state corporation Gazprom. The Ukrainian side wants to receive gas from Turkmenistan and independent producers of the Russian Federation on the Russian-Ukrainian border. This statement was made on Facebook by the company's executive director Yuri Vitrenko.
“Naftogaz justifiably requires Gazprom to unblock the opportunity to receive gas from Turkmenistan, gas from independent producers in Russia, and gas for Gazprom’s European counterparts on the Ukraine-Russian border,” Vitrenko wrote.
Thus, Vitrenko continued to develop the topic that was raised on September 20 by the Minister of Energy and Environmental Protection of Ukraine Oleksiy Orzhel. Then he said that Kiev would consider the possibility of purchasing gas from Russia, while the raw materials supposedly could be provided not only by Gazprom, which is the only Russian exporter of pipeline natural gas.
Later, the head of the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, Alexander Novak, answered the Ukrainian side that Moscow was not going to change its own legislation to please Kiev. He explained that European legislation does not really restrict access to the gas transportation infrastructure of Ukraine, but in Russia there is a single exporter - Gazprom.
- Executive Director of Naftogaz Yuri Vitrenko
- © Yuri Vitrenko
Recall that in November 2015, Naftogaz Ukrainy stopped purchasing fuel from Gazprom and switched to reverse supplies of Russian gas from Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. At the same time, at the end of 2019, a contract for the transit of Russian gas to Europe through the Ukrainian gas transmission system expires. The parties are negotiating to continue pumping fuel, but have not yet reached a consensus. The last meeting at the moment in a trilateral format (Russia - Ukraine - EU) was held in Brussels on September 19. The head of the Russian delegation at the talks, Alexander Novak, noted that Ukraine is showing readiness to reach agreements.
“The requirements are completely groundless”
According to Igor Yushkov, a leading expert at the National Energy Security Fund, a lecturer at the Financial University under the Government of Russia, Naftogaz’s executive director plays a statement on the European public.
“Vitrenko essentially requires us to change the legislation of our country. And who is he to demand it? He does this in order to later tell the Europeans: “We made a bunch of proposals to Gazprom. He declares all this in order to later tell the Europeans: “Look, Russia hasn’t taken any of this, it means that it’s impossible to talk to it, and in general they are not constructive negotiators.” Therefore, I think that he is doing this on purpose, ”the source said.
He also recalled that in Soviet times a gas pipeline was built from Turkmenistan to the Russian part of the USSR.
“It is called“ Central Asia - Center ”, it goes from Turkmenistan through Kazakhstan and connects to the Russian gas transportation system. There is no separate pipe that would pass through the territory of Russia without connecting to a common gas pipeline system and leave for Ukraine. Turkmen gas is supplied to the Russian system, a similar volume from Russia is supplied to the border with Ukraine. In the 1990s, companies worked with such offsetting, but Ukraine bought gas from intermediaries. She bought Turkmen gas and resold it to Ukrainian companies. When Vitrenko says: “Give Turkmen gas”, the question arises: did they ask the Turkmen? Have you agreed on a price with them? ”Added Yushkov.
In turn, the director of the Economic Development Fund, Sergei Pikin, recalled that the Turkmen gas, which Gazprom buys and transfers through its gas transportation system, can be used by the Russian side both for domestic consumption and under export contracts.
Gazprom makes money on this gas. If someone wanted to buy gas directly from Turkmenistan, he would need to reserve the transmission capacity of Gazprom's gas transportation system and continue to transfer this gas to his consumers, but such a mechanism does not exist. Gazprom, according to the law, has a monopoly on the export of pipeline gas, the system itself belongs to a Russian corporation. All these statements and claims are absolutely groundless, have no legal basis. This is a kind of desire, no more than that, ”the expert explained in an interview with RT.
Recall that on July 1, Gazprom signed a five-year contract for the supply of raw materials with Turkmengaz. According to the agreement, the Russian side received the right to purchase fuel in the amount of 5.5 billion cubic meters per year.