“Ukraine must also adhere to EU law”

The head of the Ukrainian state energy company Naftogaz, Olexiy Chernyshov, has, as reported, reiterated Ukraine’s threat to stop sending Russian gas to Central Europe from 2025.

Carola Millgramm, head of the gas department at the energy regulatory authority E-Control, was not impressed by this yesterday: “Ukraine also wants to join the EU, which means it also has to comply with EU law. And EU law stipulates that network operators who have available capacity must offer it transparently on booking platforms. This means that perhaps Gazprom cannot book this capacity, but of course European gas traders can book it.” As long as the line is there, gas can flow. The former board member of E-Control and current advisor to the Climate Protection Ministry, Walter Boltz, does not believe that a gas buyer would be willing to accept the war risk of transporting it through Ukraine: He considers that to be “very unlikely,” said Boltz Ö1 lunchtime journal.

Austria is not adequately prepared for a stop in Russian gas deliveries: Although the gas storage facilities are practically full, the expansion of the infrastructure has been “criminally neglected” and too little attention has been paid to other sources to replace Russian gas.

The gas and mineral oil company OMV did not want to comment specifically and pointed out that it was pushing ahead with the diversification of sources of supply and transport routes and that its own gas storage facilities were full.