OREANDA-NEWS. January 16, 2009. As you know, after the Terms of Reference for the monitoring of the transit of natural gas through Ukraine had been signed and after the European Commission and Gazprom’s monitors had taken their positions at the gas metering stations at the entry and exit points of the Ukrainian gas transmission system, Gazprom started implementing the plan of restoring the transit of gas across Ukraine. For that purpose we submitted a request to Naftogaz Ukrainy for the supply of gas via the Sudja metering station towards Orlovka. Afterwards we sent a request for the supply of gas towards Uzhgorod. However, until now our Ukrainian counterparts haven’t been confirming these requests and accepting gas into the system for more than two days. On the Russian territory the gas taps are open, the pressure is operational but gas is not flowing as the shutoff valves on the Ukrainian territory remain closed.

Today we have received a letter from Naftogaz Ukrainy saying that they do have sufficient technical capacity for the Sudja metering station to be opened and gas transit to be launched to European customers. The letter doesn’t contain any additional conditions, or any additional requirements with regard to gas needed for technological needs or for replenishing the volumes in the system.

Pursuant to this document Naftogaz Ukrainy is ready to accept 99.2 million cubic meters of gas per day through the Sudja metering station, with these volumes to be distributed partially to Moldavia (13.9 million cubic meters), Orlovka (28 million cubic meters) and via other routes, for instance, to Uzhgorod (57.3 million cubic meters).

This means that during all this time there has actually been technical capacity to accept Russian gas into the Ukrainian system. But here we have to recall a well-known TV character who said that presumably “ruin is not caused by lavatories but it's something that starts in people's heads”. There is no political decision in Ukraine in order for the transit of Russian gas to be resumed across its territory to Europe. Despite receiving the information at the dispatchers’ level that it is possible to accept gas into the system, today in a telephone conversation Naftogaz Ukrainy head Oleg Dubina said that they wouldn’t do it,” said OAO Gazprom official spokesman Sergey Kupriyanov.