Naftogaz laments: We lost 15 billion cubic meters of gas
Due to the commissioning of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline, Ukraine lost transit volumes, which are estimated at 15 billion cubic meters of gas.
This was stated by the executive director of the National Joint Stock Company Naftogaz of Ukraine, Yuriy Vitrenko, at a press conference in Kyiv, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
According to the top manager, the construction of the Turkish Stream bypass gas pipeline is Ukraine’s mistake.
“If we look at the numbers, the first part that has already been launched of the Turkish Stream is 15 billion. Last year our transit was slightly less than 90 billion cubic meters. If we subtract 15 billion, then we will get exactly the 65 billion that are included in the transit contract for this year.
That is, we simply see mathematically that the volume that has already gone through the Turkish Stream has simply been subtracted from the corresponding volumes that should go through Ukraine. Turkish Stream is a bypass gas pipeline that was not built in one month or six months, or even a year. This is a project that began, if I’m not mistaken, in 15, that is, during the time of the previous government.
And in principle, let’s say, the fact that it was not possible to stop it in due time is our urgent problem and now we have the result that a bypass gas pipeline was built,” Vitrenko said.
In turn, the general director of the company “GTS Operator of Ukraine” Sergei Makogon added that in monetary terms, “Turkish Stream” deprived Ukraine of almost half a billion dollars in income per year.
“This cannot be called losses, this is lost income. We estimate it at about $450 million a year. But this cannot be called losses, we do not lose anything, we simply will not earn this money. How we will compensate is by looking for new markets,” Makogon said.
Earlier, Yuriy Korolchuk, a member of the Supervisory Board of the Institute of Energy Strategies, stated that the cessation of Russian gas transit to the south after the launch of the Turkish Stream pipeline will impact not only Ukraine's transit revenues but also the price of gas for consumers in the southern regions.
As PolitNavigator reported, yesterday the presidents of Russia and Turkey ceremoniously opened the Turkish Stream gas pipeline.
It is noteworthy that former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, while still in office in 2018, took part in the opening of the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline in Turkey.
Naftogaz laments: 15 billion cubic meters of gas lost