Kiev: Gazprom’s annual payment for gas transit may rise by $4 bln

MOSCOW, Nov 21 (PRIME) -- Naftogaz Ukrainy has calculated that Russian gas giant Gazprom’s annual payment for gas transit through Ukraine can grow by U.S. $4 billion if the Stockholm Arbitration Court favors with Kiev, Yury Vitrenko, Naftogaz Ukrainy’s commercial director, said in his Facebook post on November 19.

“The problem is that Gazprom will have to pay us tens of billions of dollars in compensation, sell gas at a much lower price, pay by $4 billion more for gas transit every year and not to impede our integration into the European market,” he said.

In January, Kiev increased transit tariffs for Gazprom by over 50% to U.S. $4.5 for 1,000 cubic meters of gas per 100 kilometers. In August, Gazprom said that its expenditures on hydrocarbon transit rose 33% on the year in January–June.

Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukrainy filed suits against each other regarding the long-term contract for exports of Russian natural gas to Ukraine and the 2009 gas transit contract to the Stockholm Arbitration Court in 2014. Claims of Naftogaz Ukrainy include $14.23 billion redemption for retroactive changes in prices, overpayments and a ban on resales of gas.

Gazprom’s total claims under its suit amount to $31.759 billion, which mainly consists of fines under to the take-or-pay contract condition.

Hearings of the gas transit dispute are slated to start on Monday, while a decision is expected to be made by June 2017, Vitrenko said.

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