Naftogaz Ukrainy: We Did Not Siphon Russian Gas

Ukrainian national gas company Naftogaz Ukrainy has today refuted allegations from Russia's Gazprom that it siphoned gas meant for other European countries during a recent cold snap.

In a statement released today, Deputy Board Chairman of Naftogaz Vadim Chuprun said that the company had only taken the supplies it was entitled to and that it had sent proof to Gazprom of this fact.

"Ukraine did not siphon off a single cubic meter of gas at the expense of Russian gas transit to Europe," he said. "We are stating this officially and this is confirmed by corresponding documents.

"We fulfilled clearly and in full all of our contractual obligations for the transit of Russian natural gas to Europe."

Last week, CEO of Gazprom Alexey Miller told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that Naftogaz had taken massive amounts of gas over what they were entitled to do during the extreme cold, contributing to a shortfall in supply to Europe.

"On some days, up to 40 million cubic metres of gas were stuck in Ukraine," Mr. Miller said "No doubt that it inflicted both financial and reputational damage on Gazprom. Meanwhile, there is no efficient mechanism to control the behaviour of Naftogaz Ukrainy in such a situation."

However, Vadim Chuprun said today that Gazprom had failed to send the gas it said Naftogaz had taken, which is what caused the shortfall to occur. 

"From February 1 to February 21, the (Ukrainian) gas transportation system did not receive 1.247 billion cubic meters of gas. This is what Europe did not receive."

He said that Ukraine has sent a letter to Gazprom with proof that the company had failed to supply from 24 up to 110 million cubic meters of gas to the Ukrainian GTS for those 21 days.