Russian-Ukrainian gas disputes
The recent disputes over the natural gas supplied to Ukraine by Russia has sparked serious concerns for EU countries
Valentin Țigău, 17.06.2014, 13:15
The Russian Federation on Monday demanded Ukraine to pay in advance its outstanding overall debt to the Russian natural gas supplier Gazprom of nearly 4.5 billion dollars, accounting for 15 billion cubic meters of natural gas. As a consequence of introducing the payment in advance, Russia has cut off natural gas supplies to Ukraine. Pipelines transiting Ukraine are now transporting gas only to EU consumers.
According to Radio Romania’s Moscow correspondent, the two parties involved in the dispute have made statements that leave little room for finding a rapid solution to the crisis. The next round of negotiations will be held no sooner than this autumn. Several EU Member States said they would have no problems following the decision imposed on Ukraine though it would also affect their natural gas supplies. Under the current regulations, each country needs to secure its own natural gas reserve. The move poses little risk for Romania, given our country has its own natural gas production.
According to the estimates of Prime Minister Victor Ponta, Romania’s natural gas supplies are enough to last six months. Energy Minister Razvan Nicolescu has already taken steps, calling on gas companies to delay any maintenance works on their drilling rigs scheduled for this period, in order to ramp up gas production to maximum capacity. One of the alternatives to securing long-term energy security is exploiting Romania’s gas deposits in the Black Sea. Prime Minister Victor Ponta on Monday met with ExxonMobil vice-president.
The Romanian official encouraged the acceleration of the gas-drilling programme in the Black Sea continental shelf. On the other hand, the EU tries to uphold negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and hopes for the gas transit to be stable, despite complaints lodged by Gazprom of Russia and Naftogaz of Ukraine to the International Court of Arbitration in Stockholm.
EU Commissioner Gunther Oettinger said on Monday that the EU had proposed a peaceful resolution of the natural gas conflict between Russia and Ukraine, involving the full payment of Ukraine’s debt by the end of the year. Political pundits in Bucharest have labeled Gazprom’s decision as both blackmail and retaliation against Ukraine. The Russian energy giant claims it is not the excessively high price demanded by Moscow that fuels the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, but Kiev’s outstanding debt. Experts believe the episode will deeply impact regional economy amid ongoing fighting in Eastern Ukraine, thus building up more tension between East and West.
