Photo from UNIAN
The money is already in the accounts of the Ukrainian GTS operator, as the services are provided on a prepayment basis.
CEO of Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine (GTSOU) LLC Serhiy Makogon says the company has received payment for gas transit in full from Russia's Gazprom, despite a reduction in volumes of gas transmitted.
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"As there are many questions and a lot of speculations [around the 'gas' topic], I would like to explain that, despite the fact that the physical volumes of [gas] transit have temporarily decreased to 35-45 million cubic meters [mcm] per day, the GTS operator receives payment in full [from Gazprom] at a rate of 178 mcm per day. The money is already in the GTSOU's accounts since the services are provided on a prepayment basis," he said on Facebook on January 4.
The GTSOU's press service earlier wrote on Facebook that, the company had been fulfilling all transit applications from Russia's Gazprom since 07:00 January 1, that is provides gas deliveries from Russia to the EU and Moldova at 35-45 mcm per day.
At the same time, the operator gets full pay for the daily capacity at the corresponding entry and exit points based on the 65 billion cubic meters reserved for 2020.
"This confirms the obvious benefits of the 'pump or pay' principle, which was previously introduced into the Ukrainian energy legislation in line with European standards," the press service said.
"Due to the small transit volumes at year-start, the Ukrainian GTS has been partially operating in reverse mode. That is, consumer demand in the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine is covered by gas transmission from underground storage facilities through the Soyuz gas pipeline in the west-east direction. Accordingly, preliminary investment in the preparation of the GTS reverse scheme has paid off," the report said.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine and Russia's Gazprom concluded an interconnection agreement in Vienna on December 30, 2019. The deal with Gazprom was included in the package of agreements required for the extension of gas transit via Ukraine until 2025.