Reverse gas flow from Europe to Ukraine disputable - Gazprom

Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said reverse gas supplies from Europe to Ukraine would be a debatable issue, Itar-Tass reported on April 5.

“If one looks at the map of the Ukrainian gas transportation system, he will easily understand that the system is designed to operate in one direction only and there is no technical possibility to reverse it,” Miller told Rossiya 24 television channel on Saturday, April 5.

“If this is some virtual reverse flow, there can be questions about its legality. It’s unclear what grounds Ukraine has to use Gazprom’s gas in the pipeline on its territory. This may raise legal questions,” he said.

Ukraine’s acting Minister of Energy and Coal Industry Yuri Prodan said earlier this week that reverse supplies would allow the country to import 7-10 billion cubic meters of gas from Europe.

Ukraine may get up to 20 billion cubic metres of gas from Europe annually, parliament-appointed Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said at a government meeting on Saturday.

“I have contacted our European and American partners on several issues. One is reverse gas flows. Technically, we can receive up to 20 billion cubic metres [of gas from Europe],” he said.

According to Yatsenyuk, it is less costly for Ukraine to buy gas from Europe because it is “100-150 U.S. dollars cheaper than the Russian gas”.

Copyright: Itar-Tass, 2014