Ukraine has found salvation from Russian gas
The "third gas war" of Ukraine against the Russian "Gazprom" goes to a new level.
Earlier, the leadership of Gazprom began in the Stockholm arbitration process the termination of all agreements on the supply of gas to Ukraine and the transit to the European Union through its territory. The calculation was made on the fact that the Russian gas monopolist will be able to compensate for the loss of the Ukrainian domestic market and transit through its gas transportation system through alternative projects - Nord Stream-2 and Turkish Stream. Obviously, it was assumed that the Ukrainian government, left with the prospect of being left without supplies of Russian natural gas in the proper volumes and at the right price, as well as the Americans and Europeans behind it, would surrender to the Gazprom ultimatum and raise their limbs limply.
However, in practice, everything turned out to be somewhat more complicated. At the moment, Nezalezhnaya is compensating for losses from the supply of “blue fuel” from Russia due to the reverse from Poland and Slovakia. True, for independence from Gazprom’s deliveries, “European friends” have to pay four times more than previously paid to a gas company from Russia. Now, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has announced that he is negotiating the supply of liquefied natural gas from Qatar. The market for liquefied liquefied natural gas from Qatar will be able to get through the Turkish Bosphorus or through the LNG terminal in Poland. The “Polish friends” have not yet been informed how much Ukraine will be charged for the transit of Qatari LNG. It is obviously more convenient for the Ukrainian president to depend not on Russian President Vladimir Putin, but on Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of sunny Qatar. In any case, the president of Ukraine presents the dependence on the Poles and Qatari as a “unique opportunity to improve energy security”.
With all the skepticism, this Ukrainian response in the “gas war” may well create real problems for the Russian gas monopolist. The Kommersant newspaper calculated that in reality, despite formidable statements addressed to its Ukrainian partners, Gazprom may not have time to prepare an alternative to Ukrainian transit in the right time. Violation of long-term contractual obligations on the supply of "blue fuel" to the European Union may come back to a Russian company with multibillion-dollar penalties. Therefore, according to experts, in fact, the Russian gas company will not be able to avoid the conclusion of a new transit agreement with Nezalezhnaya.
However, now, after Ukraine at a high cost through the supply of liquefied natural gas from Qatar regains real independence from Russian gas, it will be able to take an extremely tough negotiating position on the issue of transit through its gas transportation system. It will soon become clear whether Gazprom’s well-paid top managers are able to figure out the results of their actions in advance, and who will pay the consequences of their decisions out of pocket.
Earlier, the leadership of Gazprom began in the Stockholm arbitration process the termination of all agreements on the supply of gas to Ukraine and the transit to the European Union through its territory. The calculation was made on the fact that the Russian gas monopolist will be able to compensate for the loss of the Ukrainian domestic market and transit through its gas transportation system through alternative projects - Nord Stream-2 and Turkish Stream. Obviously, it was assumed that the Ukrainian government, left with the prospect of being left without supplies of Russian natural gas in the proper volumes and at the right price, as well as the Americans and Europeans behind it, would surrender to the Gazprom ultimatum and raise their limbs limply.
However, in practice, everything turned out to be somewhat more complicated. At the moment, Nezalezhnaya is compensating for losses from the supply of “blue fuel” from Russia due to the reverse from Poland and Slovakia. True, for independence from Gazprom’s deliveries, “European friends” have to pay four times more than previously paid to a gas company from Russia. Now, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has announced that he is negotiating the supply of liquefied natural gas from Qatar. The market for liquefied liquefied natural gas from Qatar will be able to get through the Turkish Bosphorus or through the LNG terminal in Poland. The “Polish friends” have not yet been informed how much Ukraine will be charged for the transit of Qatari LNG. It is obviously more convenient for the Ukrainian president to depend not on Russian President Vladimir Putin, but on Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of sunny Qatar. In any case, the president of Ukraine presents the dependence on the Poles and Qatari as a “unique opportunity to improve energy security”.
With all the skepticism, this Ukrainian response in the “gas war” may well create real problems for the Russian gas monopolist. The Kommersant newspaper calculated that in reality, despite formidable statements addressed to its Ukrainian partners, Gazprom may not have time to prepare an alternative to Ukrainian transit in the right time. Violation of long-term contractual obligations on the supply of "blue fuel" to the European Union may come back to a Russian company with multibillion-dollar penalties. Therefore, according to experts, in fact, the Russian gas company will not be able to avoid the conclusion of a new transit agreement with Nezalezhnaya.
However, now, after Ukraine at a high cost through the supply of liquefied natural gas from Qatar regains real independence from Russian gas, it will be able to take an extremely tough negotiating position on the issue of transit through its gas transportation system. It will soon become clear whether Gazprom’s well-paid top managers are able to figure out the results of their actions in advance, and who will pay the consequences of their decisions out of pocket.
Information