The Prime Minister of Ukraine, Arseny Yatsenyuk, stated in the Verkhovna Rada that the united operation of the Ukrainian gas transport system would stop construction of the Russian project of South Stream forever with the help of Western investment.
The statement announced a draft which permits the Ukrainian government to form a united operator of the Ukrainian GTS, in which 49% of shares will belong to investors of the USA and the EU. Yatsenyuk believes that the South Stream will make a united operator of the Ukrainian GTS non-profitable.
He called on MPs to adopt the draft at least in the first reading.
According to the political scientist Igor Gridasov, the Ukrainian Premier tries to save Ukrainian pipes. “If there will be two streams by-passing Ukraine, two channels of gas transportation, the Ukrainian pipeline will be useless. In this case Ukraine will be deprived of a status of a transit country, of money for transit of Russian gas, and of an opportunity to use the gas illegally in some cases. Yatsenyuk tries to involve Western investors into putting pressure on Russia and making it maintain Ukraine as the main transit country of its gas to the West. I think the statement contains 80% of propaganda and 20$ of hopes,” he said.Alexei Belogoriyev, the deputy director of the Institute of Energy Strategy, told Vestnik Kavkaza that Yatsenyuk’s idea to shut down South Stream is unreal. “What is a united operator? On the one hand, it is investment, and Naftogaz demands at least $5.3 billion for modernization of its GTS. In fact the sum will be much bigger. On the other hand, it is technologies and skillful management which can be brought by Western companies to Naftogas, for example Total and Exxon. The point is in modernization of the pipeline, I don’t know how it can influence construction of South Stream,” Belogoriyev stressed.
According to the political scientist Igor Gridasov, the Ukrainian Premier is trying to save Ukrainian pipelines. “If there will be two streams by-passing Ukraine, two channels of gas transportation, the Ukrainian pipeline will be useless. In this case Ukraine will be deprived of the status of a transit country, of money for transit of Russian gas, and of an opportunity to use the gas illegally in some cases. Yatsenyuk is trying to involve Western investors in putting pressure on Russia and making it maintain Ukraine as the main transit country of its gas to the West. I think the statement contains 80% propaganda and 20% hopes,” he said.
Alexei Belogoriyev, the deputy director of the Institute of Energy Strategy, told Vestnik Kavkaza that Yatsenyuk’s idea to shut down South Stream is unreal. “What is a united operator? On the one hand, it is investment, and Naftogaz demands at least $5.3 billion for modernization of its GTS. In fact the sum will be much bigger. On the other hand, it is the technologies and skilled management which can be brought by Western companies to Naftogas, for example Total and Exxon. The point is in modernization of the pipeline, I don’t know how it can influence construction of South Stream,” Belogoriyev stressed.
