Ukrainians are freezing due to the incompetence of Naftogaz
In Stockholm, Naftogaz won a pyrrhic victory, and its management did not ensure that there was enough gas in storage, causing shortages in cold weather.
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Valentin Zemlyansky, director of energy programs at the Center for World Economy and International Relations of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, stated this at a press conference in Kyiv, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to the expert, if the Ukrainian side had reacted more calmly to the decision of the Stockholm arbitration, there would not have been the conflict that has arisen now due to gas shortages.
“What prevented Neftegaz from signing an additional agreement since December 22, 2017, when the first decision of the Stockholm Arbitration on the supply contract was made? You don’t have to be a lawyer to understand: if two business entities receive an arbitration decision, they must somehow formalize it. It can be formalized in accordance with the provisions of the 2009 contract by signing an additional agreement. Why didn’t Neftegaz sign an additional agreement with Gazprom before March 1? Why did he transfer money based on the old contract?” Zemlyansky asked.
He is convinced that independent Ukraine has never known such incompetence on the part of the NAC leadership, and in the previous “gas wars” none of the consumers, the population and budgetary organizations were harmed and were provided with gas and heat in full.
“Now we cannot lift it - the less gas there is in storage, the less gas we can lift per unit time. Even with 10 billion cubic meters of gas in storage, ensuring a stable, uninterrupted gas supply is a problem. And this is written in the Naftagaz charter: stable, uninterrupted gas supply is the main goal of its activities. That is, the management of Naftogaz failed to cope with the responsibilities assigned to it. For the first time since Ukraine’s independence, we hear: let’s save money, reduce pressure, stop the educational process, because there is not enough gas, because Gazprom is crap,” the expert noted.
“All the problems today are the level of competence of the Naftogaz management. Those decisions that were made by the Stockholm Arbitration, in particular on the transit contract, are a Pyrrhic victory because $2,5 billion in the horizon of 10-15 years of possible use of the Ukrainian gas transportation system is nothing,” Zemlyansky concluded.
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