Report: Naftogaz Ukrainy: Kiev can buy Russian gas in emergency

KIEV, Aug 8 (PRIME) -- Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz Ukrainy does not rule out purchasing gas from Russia in case of emergency, Commercial Director Yury Vitrenko told local Channel 5 in an interview broadcast late Monday.

“This year, taking into account a positive result of Stockholm (a preliminary decision of the Stockholm arbitration court on a case on the gas contract with Russia) we technically can take Russian gas. It is a separate question whether we will or will not take but we can take gas from Russia in a (critical) situation,” Vitrenko said.

Naftogaz Ukrainy said earlier that a May 31 decision of the Stockholm arbitration court revokes the take-or-pay condition in the gas contract with Gazprom, permits re-exports and revises the price since 2014.

Vitrenko said that Kiev guarantees secure transit of Russian gas to the E.U. Energy Minister Igor Nasalik said on Monday that Ukrainian gas transportation system operator Ukrtransgaz may not be technically ready to pump gas due to Naftogaz Ukrainy’s unwillingness to invest in the country’s gas transportation system.

Vitrenko said: “From our point of view, there are no reasons to worry about the security of operations of the Ukrainian gas transportation system. We guarantee secure transit.”

Ukraine’s gas reserves in underground storage facilities currently amount to 13.4 billion cubic meters and can grow to 16 billion cubic meters by the start of the heating season, he also said.

Naftogaz Ukrainy can raise the amount of its claim against Gazprom over transit to more than U.S. $18 billion, Vitrenko said. “We are waiting for a decision on our cases over the transit contract… our claims amount to more than $13 billion already which we have already presented and we will also put in more than $5 billion,” he said.

The Stockholm court is expected to make its rulings on cases against Gazprom until the end of November, Vitrenko said.

End