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Ukrainian Customs Confirms "Missing" Russian Gas in Storage

Posted on: Wednesday, 6 July 2005, 15:01 CDT

Text of report by Interfax-Ukraine news agency

Kiev, 6 July: Ukraine's Central Energy Customs Service has confirmed that as of 6 June 7.8bn cubic metres of gas belonging to Russia's Gazprom were present in Ukrainian underground storage facilities.

"The entire volume of 7.8bn cubic metres belonging to Gazprom is in Ukrainian underground storage facilities under customs control," the chief inspector of the customs control and clearance department of the Central Energy Customs Service, Taras Shepytko, told a press conference in Kiev on 6 July.

He denied reports that the Gazprom gas had been used as "buffer gas" [a technical requirement for pumping gas] and therefore could not be removed from underground storage facilities and sent to Gazprom for its further use.

"In addition to the (Russian) gas, the underground storage facilities contain 10bn cubic metres of Ukrainian gas, so the technical possibility of its removal is not in question," said Shepytko.

He said that the Russian gas that is currently in Ukrainian underground storage facilities was imported for storage, not purchase and sale, so state oil and gas company Naftohaz Ukrayiny has provided storage services for Gazprom's gas.

"In order for Gazprom to take its gas for its needs, it should pay for these services according to the contract. Gazprom has not paid for these gas storage services," he said.

The Gazprom press service told the Gas Information Agency: "Gazprom pays for the services of Ukrainian underground storage facilities when the gas is removed, not in advance."

Gazprom has announced that it will unilaterally count 7.8bn cubic metres of its gas that is stored in Ukrainian underground storage facilities as payment for transit of Russian gas across Ukrainian territory and it will reduce deliveries of gas for payment of transit in 2005 by the corresponding amount.

Naftohaz Ukrayiny does not accept Gazprom's decision and is insisting on returning the gas to Gazprom during the forthcoming heating season and the fourth quarter of 2006.

Source: BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union

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