CEO: Gazprom can limit gas transit if Kiev syphons off gas

TOKYO, Dec 16 (PRIME) -- Russian gas giant Gazprom may cut natural gas transit to the E.U. if Ukraine starts pilfering gas, CEO Alexei Miller told reporters on Friday.

“The contract clearly says that if Ukraine starts an illegal takeoff, Gazprom has the right to limit supplies equaling the amount of illegitimate takeoff and limit the supplies in a non-proportionate way. It also envisages the possibility of halting the supplies completely even after a one-time takeoff of gas. I want to stress it -- it is envisaged by the contract,” he said.

He said that Thursday’s statement by Ukraine’s energy holding Naftogaz Ukrainy that it does not plan to buy gas from Gazprom until the end of winter shows that there are such risks, as they have too little gas stored underground, he said.

“As of today, they have problems with the volume of gas in underground gas storages. This year they have pumped the smallest amount of gas there in their entire history, and started taking off gas earlier than usually in the autumn-winter season,” he said.

“And the most important thing here – we don’t know how much gas Ukraine will need if there is a period of strong frost. Ukraine has never done without Russian gas during frosts. We also see that demand for Russian gas in Europe is high now. Gazprom has sold a daily record of 614 million cubic meters to the European market. This is an additional burden on Ukraine’s gas transportation system.”

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