REUTERS
Even after Ukraine halted natural gas purchases from Russia in November, Gazprom plans to resume and maintain exports to its eastern neighbor for at least three more years, according to Bloomberg.
Moscow-based Gazprom PJSC plans to deliver the equivalent of as much as 41% of Ukraine's demand last year through 2018, according to its non-public budget approved in December and obtained by Bloomberg.
Ukraine stopped importing gas from Russia three months ago, saying it cost more than supplies from the European Union. While sales by Gazprom and its affiliates to Ukraine, a key part of transport infrastructure to the EU, have fallen 90% over the past decade amid pricing disputes and a contracting economy, they were still worth $1.7 billion last year, according to the report.
"A degree of skepticism is in order," said Sijbren de Jong, an energy security analyst at the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies.
"Ukraine has come a long way in reducing its dependence on Russian gas imports, a very long way, but it is not totally independent of Russia," he added.
Gazprom and its Ukrainian counterpart, NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine, declined to comment, according to Bloomberg.
It is reported that the state-controlled producer plans to ship 8.8 billion to 14.1 billion cubic meters of gas a year to Ukraine through 2018, compared with sales of 6.1 billion cubic meters last year. The company budgeted several export scenarios, including one mirroring the average sales price in Europe, which this year could be 15% less than the oil-linked price in Naftogaz's contract, according to the report.
Ukrainian officials have earlier stated the country would do its best to cope without Gazprom's supplies if there's no agreement on fair pricing.
As reported earlier, Naftogaz and Gazprom filed claims against each other in an international arbitration demanding almost $26 billion and $32 billion over their gas supply and transit contracts in effect through 2019, respectively.