Ukraine's Transit of Natural Gas to Europe at Historical High in 1Q08

Transit of natural gas through Ukraine to the European countries in 1Q08 increased by 29.5% (7.9 bcm), to 34.7 bcm, a historical high according to UkrTransGaz. Vladimir Nesterenko: It looks like high growth in 1Q08 stems from two sources. Partly, it was due to a low comparison base: in 1Q07, transit to Europe dropped 16.7% yoy, and annual volumes reached 3-year lows (112 bcm). The other part of growth should be attributed to either increased supplies by Gazprom/RosUkrEnergo, or redirection of transit flows from Belarus, which normally transports to Europe ~40 bcm of gas a year. Official data on 1Q08 transit through Belarus is not publicly available, Beltransgaz refused to elaborate without a formal inquiry.

Transit of Natural Gas to Europe through Ukrainian Pipelines, bcm/y
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Owner of gas    1Q06    2006     1Q07      2007     1Q08
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Gazprom           30.4   121.5     23.4     100.6     31.1
RosUkrEnergo     1.8     7.0         3.4      11.6      3.6
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Total                 32.2   128.5     26.8     112.1     34.7
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