MOSCOW, October 18. /TASS/. Gas price for Ukraine with direct supplies may be 20% lower than its current level, Chief Executive Officer of Gazprom Alexei Miller said at a meeting with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
"The end-user gas price in Ukraine with direct supplies may be up to 20% lower than the current level," he said.
Gas transit contract
The extension of the current transit contract with Ukraine amid updated market conditions may be the only way, the Gazprom CEO stated.
"As of today [Ukraine] still has a long way to go before completion of that process [shifting to Third Energy Package — TASS]. And if Ukraine fails to set up an independent gas transport operator and an independent regulator by January 1, 2020 the extension of the current contract will be the only way amid new updated market conditions," he explained.
Judicial disputes on gas
Gazprom has notified Ukraine and the European Union (EU) on the necessity to settle judicial disputes before a new contract is concluded with Kiev, Alexei Miller stated.
"We have briefed our Ukrainian and European partners on our position that it is obviously necessary to fully settle all judicial disputes before a new contract is concluded," he said, adding that there are quite a few such disputes.
Miller emphasized that the key issue on the agenda is the agreement on transit via the territory of Ukraine that expires on December 31, 2019.
Speaking about the judicial disputes, Miller noted the decision of the Stockholm court that virtually unbalances the two contracts — the supplies contract and the contract on transit via Ukraine. He also mentioned the rulings of the Ukrainian courts on the so-called antimonopoly case against Gazprom. "That is an absolutely fanciful story for one simple reason that Gazprom runs no transport operations on the Ukrainian territory," the CEO commented. "Of course, there have been cases in the international practice when companies’ disputes were settled in the pre-trial order," he said, adding that such an option would "fully stop all legal claims, all claims would be withdrawn and a line would be drawn under that story."
Gazprom and Naftogaz of Ukraine plunged into a litigation over gas supplies and transit contracts back in 2014, as administered by the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce. On February 28, 2018, the Stockholm Arbitration court handed down a final decision on the dispute, ordering the Russian company to pay $2.56 bln to Naftogaz. Gazprom challenged those decisions and later sought complete cancellation of the ‘transit’ decision. The two contracts signed in 2009 by Gazprom and Naftogaz on gas supplies to Ukraine and on gas transit through the country to Europe will expire at the turn of 2019-2020.