Photo UNIAN. At the start negotiations for the merger between the Ukrainian and Russian gas giant, Gazprom and Naftohaz. A court condemns Kyiv Ukrainian national company Naftohaz oligarchs in favor of the industry. Experts: "gazocrazia. Check the hypothesis, with the help of Belarus and Lithuania, exploitation on the other hand the Odessa-Brody.
Gas and Naphtha are very highly flammable materials. Despite the holiday closure of the Rada, to warm the Ukrainian policy, and with it the whole of Central and Eastern European region, is the energy issues. In addition to Kyiv, including Belarus, Russia and Lithuania are involved in projects that could mark a breakthrough in the geopolitical balance in the region.
The latest news is the opening of negotiations between Moscow and Kiev for the creation of a single supermonopolista in the gas sector, according to plans, should be born from the merger between the Russian monopoly, Gazprom and the Ukrainian, Naftohaz. As reported news agency russa Ria Novosti, e confermato da quella ucraina UNIAN, nella giornata di venerdi, 20 agosto, il capo di Gazprom, Aleksej Miller, ed il ministro dell'energia ucraino, Jurij Bojko, hanno intrattenuto il primo di una serie di incontri per realizzare un progetto che interesserà l'estrazione di oro blu in Russia, il suo transito in Ucraina e lo sviluppo del sistema infrastrutturale energetico di Kyiv.
"Nell'incontro - riporta una nota di Gazprom - avvenuto presso i nostri [di Gazprom, n.d.a.] uffici si è affrontato l'inizio delle trattative per la creazione di un'unica compagnia energetica. Siamo soddisfatti per come procedono le trattative, e per lo stato della cooperazione con Naftohaz, sopratutto per quanto riguarda la firma new long-term contracts, aimed at the renewal of supplies to Kyiv and to transit gas through Ukrainian territory. "
The proposal to merge Gazprom and Naftohaz in one supermonopolista was made to surprise, Russian Prime Minister person, Vladimir Putin, during a meeting with my colleague in Ukraine, Mykola Azarov, last May in Sochi. However, according to the opinion of many experts, and to some rumors, it would not be a merger on equal terms, because the Ukrainian team would be reserved for only 6% of the shares of the new entity. Faced with this, the democratic opposition on one side has denounced the Kremlin's willingness to extend its control Ukrainian energy system infrastructure to subdue the country economically and therefore politically. Second, he accused the presidential administration and government to counter the national interests, and to sell off, to promote their sponsors, the main pieces of the Ukrainian industry. In fact, next to the gas monopoly, Moscow and Kyiv have already done the unification of his giants in other areas crucial to the economy of the region, from hydro and nuclear energy to aircraft construction. Also as proposed by Putin in Sochi that.
The blaze earlier, still inherent blue gold, on the day of Thursday, August 19. The court of Shevchenko Kyiv district upheld the ruling of the arbitration in Stockholm on the dispute between Naftohaz and RosUkrEnergo - mysterious company registered in Switzerland, 50% controlled by a subsidiary of the Russian monopolist Gazprom, RosGasAg, and another 50% from the Swiss Centralgas Holding, acting on behalf of two Ukrainian oligarchs, Ivan Fursyn and Dmytro Firtash - and forced the Ukrainian government for the repayment of 12 billion cubic meters of gas with the payment of a fine of $ 5.5 billion. The Ministry of Energy, which controls Naftohaz, has promised to continue the battle in Apelles. But few believe the real intention of continuing the process of the case, neither in the possibility of success.
The news, then confirmed, the Russian newspaper Kommersant,''who explained how the sentence has already been issued on 13 August. A stance that has angered, not just the head of the Parliamentary Committee for National Security - to practice granted to the opposition - Anatole Hrycenko, who stressed how it was the same government to advocate and encourage, that decision, heavy for the state budget. An attitude, apparently inexplicable, demonstrating the willingness of magiore to protect the interests of their sponsors before those of the nation: Dmytro Firtash is a major funder of Partija Rehioniv, the political force, hegemony in the country to which they belong President, prime minister and most of the rest of the Council of Ministers. In addition, the energy charge of the department, Jurij Bojko, was among the executives of RosUkrEnergo. A conflict of interest, said Hrycenko to Radio Liberty, a very clear question.
Similar analysis was also expressed by persons of high competence, outside the political sphere. The director of energy studies center, "Nomos" Mykhajlo Honchar, pointed out that the matter witnesses the lack of a functioning court system to protect the interests of the country, preferring to pander to the interests of individuals, big business. They, backed by the political forces of the majority - Partija Rehioniv, Lytvyn Block and communists - have a gazocrazia Ukraine, which are corrupt oligarchs to rule, and not the representatives of popular will.
In order to clarify the whole issue, a brief historical duty. RosUkrEnergo held the monopoly for the sale of Turkmen gas - less expensive than that of Russia, also sold by Gazprom to Kyiv - to Naftohaz, and acted as an intermediary in negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv energy until November 2009. Ten months earlier, in January, Kyiv and Moscow had agreed to eliminate the Swiss company, Gazprom and Naftohaz had granted permission to use the gas from RosUkrEnergo managed, stored in tanks in Ukraine. The former broker, however, appealed all'arbitrato di Stoccolma, accusando la compagnia ucraina di aver rubato l'oro blu, e di non avere rispettato le clausole contrattuali, in vigore dal 2006.
Lo scorso 8 giugno, Naftohaz è stata condannata alla restituzione di 11 miliardi di metri cubi di gas, ed al versamento di un indennizzo pari a 5,5 miliardi di dollari in favore della società controllata da Firtash. Il tutto, senza reazioni da parte di Gazprom. Né, sopratutto, alcuna presa di posizione da parte delle autorità di Kyiv. Al contrario, il governo ha addossato l'intera responsabilità al precedente esecutivo, guidato da Julija Tymoshenko, senza programmare alcuna controffensiva giudiziaria. Inoltre, il Servizio di Sicurezza Nazionale, presieduto da Valerij Khoroshovs'kyj, Firtash business partner, has commenced an investigation which resulted in a short time, the arrest of several employees of the Iron Lady of Ukraine at the time of the alleged misconduct.
In essence, a real blow energy. From which, however, Kyiv has the chance to redeem himself with the help of Belarus and Lithuania, on another front, that of naphtha. Specifically, Minsk would be ready to give in to Kiev 5 of 9 million tons of oil imported from Venezuela as a right of transit through Ukraine.
a real possibility, as soon as the Belarusian Government has already made an agreement with Lithuania to the use of oil in Vilna. But the transport by sea to Odessa on the Black Sea, would cost significantly less than that to Klajpedi on the Baltic Sea. However, the conditional is a must. Indeed, if the Belarusian side is willing to deal, also involving Lithuania, is that Kyiv has to make a major breakthrough, and brave, reversing the flow to use the Odessa-Brody.
The pipeline was built between 1996 and 2001, but became operational only in 2004 when the then Council of Ministers, to counter the energy dependence on Russia, opted for its use in the opposite direction: from ' Ukraine to Belarus. A decision by the then immediately canceled Yanukovych's first government - the current president, prime minister - who, with a special decree still in force, restored the original use of the pipeline to transport crude fuel consortium of Russian TNK-BP from Brody to Odessa. A direction that Kyiv is obliged to maintain for two years since, always the first executive Yanukovych, the country engaged in an agreement with Moscow aimed at strengthening Druzhba pipeline - which carries oil from Russia to the Baltic States and Belarus - to that the Odessa-Brody, exploited to the Black Sea, is a natural continuation.
So Kyiv falls on a courageous decision. A clear choice between a range of diversification of supply and increased reliance on political power by the Kremlin. According to most experts, the Belarusian solution is possible and, above all, convenient. But it is unlikely that the current Ukrainian vertical of power will make a snub to Moscow, and prematurely break the agreement for the strengthening of the Druzhba pipeline. Giving up, so, finally, to provide cost-effective and politically independent.
Matthew Cazzulani
0 comments:
Post a Comment