The European heavy lifting gas

Europe builds the protection of the Ukrainian-Russian gas Wars: The European Commission has proposed to establish a center of control over the rise of gas from storage facilities and coordinate the uniform energy consumption in each country. A similar scheme has been successfully applied in Western Europe after the Arab-Israeli war of 1973. For Ukraine, this could mean rejection of the EU gas injection in Ukrainian UGS.

meeting was held in Brussels the EU Coordination Group on gas issues, during which Ukraine and Russia announced its proposals to resolve the deadlock situation with the purchase of Russian gas for injection into Ukrainian storage. We explained the risks that arise in connection with the problem of finding financial resources for the injection of gas in storage facilities of Ukraine, - the representative of Gazprom Sergei Kupriyanov.

A first deputy chairman of the NAK Naftogaz of Ukraine Igor Didenko specified that it required $ 4.2 billion in Brussels Naftogaz offered two options: European companies can buy the necessary volumes of gas for storage in the Ukrainian UGS or consortium of international financial institutions provide credit to Ukraine. We expect that this evening the leaders of EU countries will discuss this issue, and for one to two weeks it will be resolved favorably, - said Didenko.

Before the group meeting

European Commissioner for Energy Andris Piebalgs discussed the situation with representatives energokontsernov Europe, but the findings of the Commission works in Kiev and Moscow are not made public. Member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Fuel and Energy Complex Sergey Tulub believes that European companies are unlikely to agree to keep gas in Ukrainian UGS. Ukraine's storage facilities are infamous: annually in lost gas as fuel RosUkrEnergo. And transparent mechanisms for monitoring the availability and speed of recovery is not, - Deputy Director, SEC agree to Psyche Gennadij Ryabtsev.

Europe has decided to hedge against a repetition of the January gas crisis, when Bulgaria and Slovenia remained for three weeks without gas in a critically low temperatures. Termination of supply in the EU comes from the fact that Gazprom and Naftogaz could not agree a new contract for the supply of gas. Head of European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso presented the following proposals: in the case of a gas crisis, EU countries will negotiate with Brussels reduction of gas supplies to neighboring countries.

Governments of all EU countries should be sent to the daily updates on European gas supplies and demand forecasts for three days, reports on gas storage facilities and the impact of disruptions on the economy and energy. In fact, Brussels will be to distribute the fuel within the EU. The initiative of the European Commission must be approved by EU governments and the European Parliament. But, as stressed in the European Commission, the plan was drafted in response to the demands of EU Member States to ensure the reliability of gas supply.

measures like the European pattern of equal distribution of oil during the war, Yom day in 1973 when Arab countries stopped exporting raw materials to Western Europe and the United States, said director of the Center for Energy Studies Konstantin Borodin. Then all the oil flowing to Europe administratively distributed among countries in proportion to their consumption. The same winter the individual countries such as Germany, Italy and Switzerland, had a surplus of gas, while others, like Bulgaria, froze - he said.

In Kiev

no secret that a new gas war could start any minute. First Deputy Secretariat Chief of Staff OleksandrShlapak said: Keep the existing contracts with Gazprom today is impossible.

There is an urgent need to revise the Russian-Ukrainian gas agreement in the value of the transit of Russian gas through Ukrainian territory. He also noted that Naftogaz may refuse further credit if in the near future the company will not find funds to pay for current imports of gas.

Director of East European Gas Analysis Michael Korchemkina said that Europe had already begun to defend themselves against the risks of disconnection from the supply of gas through the substitution of suppliers: this year the market is dominated by the supply of gas from Norway, the increased sales of German, British and French power companies. The share of Gazprom in the III quarter of 2008 was 30% in the IV decreased to 22%, and in I quarter of 2009 fell to 16%.