OREANDA-NEWS. European gas traders expressed doubts about the reliability of their partner in Ukraine, the Ukrtransgaz company, because of the growth of its debts for technical gas. This is stated in the letter of the European Federation of Energy Traders (EFE) to the head of the state-owned company Naftogaz of Ukraine, Andrei Kobolev, quoted by the Ukrainian News Agency.

The document, in particular, states that "the situation is extremely delicate and causes concern, it threatens the stable operation of Ukrtransgaz, and raises serious questions about the security of gas supplies".

According to the ETF, which unites more than 100 companies from 27 countries, at the moment Ukrtransgaz’s debt for technical gas exceeds 4 billion hryvnas ($ 156 million). “At the end of April 2019, Ukrtransgaz reduced the payment for gas already supplied by these suppliers in March 2019. Ukrtransgaz also did not pay for the gas supplied in April and informed the suppliers that payment for the gas supplied in May would also not be made on time “Accumulated debt in the amount of 4.1 billion hryvnia for these contractual supplies", - said in a letter to the Federation.

The outcome of the current situation, according to the ETE, may be a reduction in the willingness of international market participants to invest in the Ukrainian energy sector, interruptions in gas transportation through the territory of Ukraine, it can also weaken the country's position in the upcoming negotiations on gas transit between Ukraine, the EU and Russia.

The Federation called on Naftogaz, with the support of the Ukrainian authorities, to pay bills as soon as possible and to ensure the continued normal operation of Ukrtransgaz. The letter states that "this must be done immediately so that Ukraine can properly prepare for the upcoming winter of 2019-2020".