UPDATE 1-Ukraine says EU reverse gas flows lower on Gazprom opposition
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KYIV, July 23 (Reuters) – Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuri
Prodan said on Wednesday reverse gas flows from the European
Union to Ukraine had fallen because of opposition from Russian
gas producer Gazprom.
Ukraine – which consumes around 50 billion cubic metres of
gas annually – has increased its efforts to secure more gas from
the European Union after Gazprom raised prices for its supplies
in a dispute.
“Reverse gas supplies are reduced at present. This is linked
to certain actions by Gazprom,” Prodan told reporters, adding
Ukraine first saw a decrease two weeks ago.
Gazprom declined to comment on Wednesday. The company said
on Apr.5 the possibility of importing gas from the West to
substitute for Russian supplies raised questions about the
legality of such a move.
Gazprom head Alexei Miller has also called the reverse of
gas flows from Slovakia to Ukraine “semi-fraudulent”.
“You heard the threats Gazprom made to European energy
companies that this reverse is illegal.”
He said reverse supplies stood at 7 million cubic metres
daily on Wednesday versus a possible 18 million. He did not say
by how much supplies had fallen in the past two weeks.
On April 28 Bratislava and Ukraine signed a deal allowing
the EU to send a limited amount of gas to Ukraine. Slovak Prime
Minister Robert Fico said combined reverse flows from Slovakia,
Hungary and Poland could reach up to around 16-17 bcm annually.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kyiv and Vladimir Soldatkin in
Moscow; Writing by Gabriela Baczynska; editing by Keiron
Henderson)