“The termination of the transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine on December 31 will have little effect on the strengthened European gas market.”, — write: www.epravda.com.ua
The termination of the transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine on December 31 will have little effect on the strengthened European gas market.
This was announced by the head of the German energy company Uniper SE, Michael Lewis, writes Bloomberg.
While countries such as Austria and Slovakia still depend on fuel from the east, the termination of a transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine on Dec. 31 will have little impact on a strengthened European gas market, Uniper CEO Michael Lewis said in an interview on Wednesday.
“A certain amount of gas will disappear from the market, but that is already taken into account and reflected in the prices,” Lewis said at the Gastech conference in Houston. “In general, our position before winter is quite strong.”
Europe stockpiled gas reserves earlier than usual ahead of the heating season. It is now also receiving steady supplies from Norway and increased imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from producers such as the US to offset already reduced volumes still coming from Russia.
Uniper and Germany as a whole no longer buy gas from Gazprom, Russia’s state gas company. Uniper was nationalized during the 2022 energy crisis in one of the largest corporate bailouts in German history. After Russia invaded Ukraine and reduced gas exports to Europe, the company, which used to be one of Gazprom’s key customers, was forced to pay hundreds of millions of euros every day for alternative supplies, and it was only able to do so with the support of the state.
In June, Uniper was awarded more than 13 billion euros ($14 billion) in damages by international arbitration over Gazprom’s failure to deliver gas from mid-2022. The company is considering all options on how to compensate the damages received by the court. “This is a complex legal process. There are several challenges,” Lewis noted. “It will take as long as it takes.”
When asked about alternatives to the transit deal, Lewis said Uniper has no intention of buying Russian gas. Negotiations with Russia regarding possible peace agreements also do not look promising, since the war in Ukraine has been going on for the third year.
“We have to see an end to the war before any serious negotiations can take place, an end to the war and a real restoration of relations between the EU and Russia,” he said. “It is very difficult to imagine what can be done.”