Ukraine to appeal arbitration court ruling over “expropriated” gas

摘要

Ukraine is considering appealing against a Stockholm arbitration court ruling that Ukraine’s state-owned gas company Naftogas owes Gazprom 12.1 Bcm of natural gas “expropriated” during the gas crisis in 2009.Ukraine’s government denies the allegation, saying it purchased the gas in question from Gazprom for $1.7 billion. "We will not return [the gas] at consumers' expense," Ukraine's fuel and energy minister Yuri Boiko told reporters. "We will carefully investigate all opportunities to appeal," he added.Centragas, the joint owner of RosUkrEnergo with Gazprom, last week reiterated claims that Naftogaz needs to pay for the gas which it “expropriated” during the January 2009 gas crisis. These volumes had been in Ukrainian underground storage destined for transit to European customers.The majority owner (90%) of Centragas is the Ukrainian businessman Dmytro Firtash, who has long been attacked by Ukraine’s former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko for epitomising the lack of transparency in Ukraine’s energy relations with Gazprom.RosUkrEnergo was a controversial gas intermediary for Russian gas transits to Europe but was dissolved following the settlement of the 2009 gas crisis.To end the gas crisis, Ukraine and Russia agreed to sign a 10-year gas sale and purchase agreement, altering pricing conditions in favour of Gazprom while granting Ukraine a gradual adaptation of gas transit fees to European standards. – AK