Brussels, 11/12/2013 (Agence Europe) - Kiev is demanding a revision of the conditions in the contract for the reverse supply of gas planned between Slovakia's Eustream and Ukraine's Ukrtransgas.
The signature of an agreement between gas pipeline operators in Ukraine and Slovakia, which was planned for last week in Bratislava, has been postponed indefinitely. The agreement would allow the EU to send gas across Slovakia to Ukraine and would reduce Ukraine's dependence on gas imports from Russia.
On Friday 6 December, the European Commission spoke of “logistical reasons” that prevented the party from signing the agreement, and it gave assurances that the agreement would “soon” be sealed. However, the Ukrainian explanation reveals a serious technical problem - Kiev is demanding a revision of the terms of the contract for the reverse supply of gas planned between Slovakia and Ukraine. “We want to refuse from their conditions and find mutual understanding that will enable us to sign this covenant” said Ukraine's Minister for Energy Eduard Stavytskyi on Ukrainian television channel ICTV, the news agency Ukrainian News reported on 10 December. The contract has not been signed for technical reasons, and not due to a boycott by the Ukraine, Stavytskyi said, adding that if the contractual conditions were amended, an agreement could be signed before long. Stavytskyi described the modalities of the contract as “unacceptable” for Ukraine - particularly the condition about guaranteeing the uptake of stipulated volumes of gas in reverse supply.
Under the terms of the agreement expected between Slovakia and Ukraine, the Slovakian transport network Eustream and its Ukrainian equivalent Ukrtransgas (the transport branch of the public national company Naftogas) will set up a new physical connection between the two countries, and all the Ukrainian infrastructure involved will be able to receive reverse gas supplies. The capacity of the new reverse flow pipeline should initially be 8 million cubic metres per day increasing to 20 million cubic metres per day. The import of natural gas from the EU via Slovakia would give Ukraine access to sufficient volumes at a lower price than it obtains from the Russian gas company Gazprom. (EH/transl.fl)