Photo from UNIAN
Transit shipments of Russian natural gas via Ukraine to the European Union have hit a record high in the last few years, exceeding the level of 300 million cubic meters (mcm) per day, according to the state-run gas transport system operator, Ukrtransgaz.
"The daily volume of gas transit to Europe exceeded the level of 300 mcm. This trend has been recorded in the past two days in a row, being a record high in the past few years," Ukrtransgaz's press service said.
As reported, Ukraine continues to meet all bids for transit supplies on time.
"According to the central dispatch department, 6.525 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas was pumped through the Ukrainian gas transport system to the European consumers on January 1-24. At the same time, the transit gas shipments from the Russian Federation totaled 6.522 bcm," the report says.
However, Russia's Gazprom that has a monopoly on gas exports to Europe does not meet the gas pressure requirements at Ukraine's eastern border that are stipulated in the transit contract," the press service reported.
Read alsoNaftogaz not to pay $5.3 bln to Gazprom"Gazprom fails to keep the level of gas pressure at the Sudzha gas measuring station on the Russian border in keeping with the contract," the press service said. In particular, gas pressure in the pipeline towards Ukraine as of 06:00 Kyiv time on January 26, 2017, was a mere 58.8 atm, which is 2% below the level sealed in the contract," the press service added.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the transit of natural gas through the Ukrainian gas transportation system in 2016 grew by 23% from 2015, to 82.2 bcm.
According to the Ukraine-Russia gas transit contract, Gazprom is obliged to annually pump at least 110 bcm of natural gas through Ukraine. Kyiv and Moscow are now suing each other at the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce over the violation of this provision. The verdict is expected in the first half of this year.
Ukrtransgaz also said that the contracted gas pressure was maintained at the Pisarevka station only for the period of 12 days in November, but it was consistently below the contractual terms in Sudzha.
Gazprom reportedly continued to violate the gas pressure provisions of the contract at the inlet to the gas transport system on Ukraine's eastern border.