Alexei Miller: Nord Stream Decreases Ukrainian GTS's Importance

CEO of Gazprom Alexei Miller has said that the importance and role of Ukraine's gas transport system has been significantly lessened with the introduction of the Nord Stream pipeline.

Speaking to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin today, the CEO said the Ukrainian GTS was no longer essential for the supply of gas from Russia.

"Regarding a decrease in transit risks, with Nord Stream's introduction, Ukraine's role and importance as the exclusive transit country for Russian gas to Europe is gone, of course," the Kyiv Post reports Mr. Miller as saying today.

The statement comes despite increased cooperation by Ukraine in recent days following the suspension of Nord Stream's transit due to maintenance work.

Ukraine's pipeline operator Ukrtransgaz, a subsidiary of national gas company Naftogaz, said yesterday that as of the 16th of April, the company had increased the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine from 241.2 million cubic metres on the 15th to 258.4 million cubic metres on the 16th. The increased transit comes about as the Nord Stream pipeline closed for maintenance on the 15th of April. Maintenance is expected to take two weeks.

With the completion of the offshore section of the second line of the Nord Stream project, Ukraine's GTS is likely to become an even less prominent transit route for Russian gas to Europe.

Yesterday, the Nord Stream consortium announced that this offshore section had been completed ahead of schedule and was now being de-watered and dried. The second line is eventually expected to contribute to increasing annual transit amount through Nord Stream to 50 billion cubic metres a year.

Mr. Miller said today that he expects the second line of the Nord Stream pipeline to be operational before the end of the year, with commercial gas supply beginning in October.

"The second line will start to be filled with buffer gas in September and commercial supplies will begin in October," he told the prime minister.