Ukraine Ruffles Feathers in Selecting New Gas Pipeline Operator

摘要

Denting foreign companies’ hopes of taking a role in running Ukraine’s sprawling gas pipeline network, the outgoing government has selected Main Gas Pipelines of Ukraine (MGU) to be the country’s indepen- dent transmission operator and contractual counterparty to Russia’s Gazprom for gas transit starting in January 2020. The controversial de- cision is also a blow to state gas company Naftogaz Ukrainy, whose managers have argued for a differ- ent approach to unbundling. Although there is a slim chance that the new government that will emerge after next month’s parlia- mentary elections could theoreti- cally throw its support behind Naftogaz, this would be extremely risky given the tight deadline, with less than six months remaining un- til the expiry of the current transit contract with Gazprom.