You're reading: Kobolev: Naftogaz sends proposal to revise gas transit contract to Gazprom

National joint-stock company Naftogaz Ukrainy has sent a letter with proposals to revise a contract on the volumes and conditions of natural gas transit via the country's territory from 2090 to 2019 to Russia's OJSC Gazprom, Board Chairman of Naftogaz Ukrainy Andriy Kobolev has said.

“This week we’ve sent a letter to OJSC Gazprom with a demand to
change the transit contract. The process has been started,” he said on
the ICTV TV channel late on Monday, July 28.

He did not specify all the proposals of Ukraine regarding the revision of the contract.

“One of the elements for changing the transit contract is the
amendments to the methods of gas metering – where it will be metered and
how it will be controlled,” he added.

As reported, Naftogaz Ukrainy several times criticized the transit
contract for the absence of guarantees of the volumes of transit gas and
the ‘take and pay’ conditions. In addition, Ukraine has raised the
issue of revising the transit rate, believing the rate has been set too
low.

Recently Kyiv raised the issue of revising the transit rate,
believing that it was set too low. Ukraine also proposed to transfer the
place of accepting Russian natural gas by European consumers to the
Russian-Ukrainian border.

Earlier Kobolev said that the company will continue achieving its
revision via negotiations, but if the talks are a failure, the company
will file a claim at the Stockholm arbitration institution.

Kobolev said that along with transit rates, there are several other
serious problems with the contract. For example, the contract does not
allow Naftogaz Ukrainy to clearly forecast the transit volume for
upcoming periods.

Naftogaz Ukrainy unites oil and gas production assets in Ukraine, and
is the country’s gas transit, underground gas storage, and oil pipeline
transportation monopoly.