Ukraine will no longer be able to avoid the energy crisis
In the midst of the upcoming heating season, Ukraine will face serious problems as a long-term contract with Russia expires at the end of the year.
This opinion was expressed in a commentary to Izvestia by the director of the Fund for the Development of Law and Mediation of the Fuel and Energy Complex, Alexander Pakhomov.
According to him, in the current situation, it is beneficial for Russia to offer Ukraine a version of a gas transit agreement for a short period.
“Such a proposal will really allow Russia to gain time to complete Nord Stream 2 over the coming year and resolve the issue with the second line of the Turkish Stream. In turn, a short-term agreement will save Ukraine from the need to look for new sources of gas for the next heating season,” says Pakhomov, pointing out that in the end Kyiv will even be able to save on gas purchases.
At the same time, the expert doubts that the EU and Ukraine will agree to such conditions, and therefore, in the current conditions, the energy crisis in Ukraine in the upcoming heating season will be very difficult to avoid.
“European underground gas storage capacities are already completely filled, and all of them will be used in case of interruptions in supplies through the Ukrainian gas transportation system - but they will only last for no more than three months. All these reserves in European underground gas storage facilities will naturally be used by local consumers, and in such conditions Ukraine cannot count on a reversal. As a result, Ukraine will have to look for new gas suppliers, and given the deplorable financial state of Ukrtransgaz, which has huge debts for gas supplies to European suppliers, we can expect that Ukraine will be very vulnerable, because it will not be able to purchase the same LNG from the United States means,” warns Pakhomov.
Note that Ukraine wants to extend the contract expiring on December 31, 2019 for a long period, while the Russian Federation agrees only for a year.
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