Brussels, 09/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 9 December, the Commissioner for the Energy Union, Maros Sefcovic, said that he was confident that the Russia-Ukraine agreement concluded in late October for supplies of gas to Ukraine until March 2015 would be correctly implemented.
“The winter package was signed in a constructive frame of mind. All of the details have been laid down in minute detail. And so far, the agreement has been respected. I am confident that the parties will continue to respect it. The latest positive sign is Ukraine's first order, yesterday, of a volume of one billion m3 of prepaid Russian gas”, Sefcovic commented, after the Council. “This agreement in place should allow us to get through the winter. It remains for us to discuss the following phase of the normalisation of energy relations between Russia and Ukraine”, the Commissioner concluded.
The 'winter package 2014/2015' is based on the payment by the Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz of part of its debt to the Russian gas company Gazprom, at a price of $268.5 per 1,000 m3 and in two instalments: $1.45 billion (which Naftogaz paid in early November) and $1.65 billion by the end of 2014. Gazprom, which is claiming total arrears of $5.3 billion, has agreed to go before the Court of Arbitration of Stockholm for the other $2.2 billion. Gazprom has undertaken to supply Ukraine with gas until March 2015 at a price below $385 per 1,000 m3. Naftogaz is to pay in advance on a monthly basis. (EH)