"Threw fuel on the fire"

Gazprom, E.ON Ruhrgas, Eni and GDF Suez are concerned about the Brussels Declaration

Ten days after Kiev and Brussels signed a declaration on the modernization of Ukraine’s gas transportation system, passions continue to simmer. The head of Gazprom, Alexey Miller, yesterday gathered in his office his European colleagues - Chairman of the Board of E.ON Ruhrgas AG Bernhard Reutersberg, Chief Executive Officer of Eni Paolo Scaroni and Vice President of GDF Suez Jean-Marie Dauger. A source at the gas concern told Vremya Novostey that the largest gas supplier to Europe and its main clients decided to discuss work “in the face of growing transit risks.” The meeting participants, according to him, expressed the opinion that the issue of corporatizing the Ukrainian gas transportation system with the involvement of European consumers and gas suppliers in this process is long overdue. This is how issues of investment in the modernization and development of the system in other countries are resolved, it was said during the conversation, and at the same time the state retains a controlling stake, remaining the owner of the strategic asset.

Moscow reacted harshly from the very beginning to the bilateral declaration between the Ukrainian government and the European Commission. The opinion of the Russian side was ignored, and a number of provisions were included in the document that cast doubt not only on the recently signed long-term contracts between Gazprom and Naftogaz, but also on agreements with European consumers. This greatly angered the Russian leadership: Vladimir Putin threatened to reconsider the principles of relations with the EU, and Dmitry Medvedev proposed postponing intergovernmental negotiations with Ukraine.

Until recently, Gazprom did not participate very actively in political debates, as it turned out, preparing a broad “opposition” front with European partners. According to Vremya Novostey’s interlocutor at Gazprom, yesterday an extremely frank, substantive conversation took place about the reliability of gas transit through Ukraine to Europe. And European visitors, he said, also expressed “great concern about the signed declaration.” Including one of the main complaints about the event from Gazprom and Russian officials: how can a transit country discuss the expansion of the gas transportation system without the participation of the supplier company.

“Signing the declaration behind Russia’s back was a political mistake, and it will be impossible to implement it in practice without the participation of the gas supplier,” Mr. Miller told the crowd. - This document only added fuel to the fire of the recent gas conflict, which we managed to extinguish. The declaration does not correspond not only to the spirit of cooperation within the framework of the January gas agreements between Russia and Ukraine, but also to the spirit of cooperation in the field of energy between the European Union and Russia.”

According to him, in 2008, only $40 million was invested in the Ukrainian system, which is a meager amount. The situation may worsen due to the financial problems of Naftogaz, which is still having difficulty paying for gas. And when he has to buy fuel for future use (for the winter), payments may stop altogether.

Alexey GRIVACHS