Naftogaz completes 2013 gas imports, plans talks with Gazprom

Naftogaz of Ukraine (NAFTO), the state natural gas distribution and production monopoly, imported 18 bcm of gas from Russia in 2013 and therefore fully completed its annual import plan that was approved by the government, Energy Minister Eduard Stavitskiy said on November 13. Currently, Ukraine is storing 18 bcm of gas in its underground storage facilities, enough for the country to smoothly get through the heating season, he stated. The top managers of Naftogaz and Gazprom will meet today, November 14, to discuss all unresolved gas issues, he said.

Alexander Paraschiy: With the current gas stocks, Ukraine may be left without additional imports of Russian gas till mid-January, we estimate. Meanwhile, we look forward to hearing the results of the meeting involved the executives of the two gas monopolies. In the best case scenario, we might see the 2009 gas contract revised or new payment delays allowed for the August and October gas bills (a combined worth of about USD 2 bln). In the worst case, the meeting may result in Gazprom’s demand for prepayment of its gas, which will clearly have a negative short-term effect on Ukraine’s external accounts.