EU welcomes Russian - Ukraine gas accord

• Germany, which gets more than one third of its natural gas from Russia, said it has enough stored gas to last up to 75 days. The country's largest gas supplier E.ON Ruhrgas said its big customers may be hit if the delivery cut turned out to be long and the winter remained cold. Chief Executive Burckhard Bergmann said he saw no problems for smaller customers, including households and small businesses.

• Italy's Eni, which gets about 30 percent of its gas from Russia, said supplies from Russia were down 24 percent from normal levels. Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni said at the weekend gas stocks covered 15 days' consumption, but added Italy exports gas-generated electricity to European neighbors and might run down gas stocks faster than forecast.

• French utility Gaz de France said it is following the situation very closely and looking at precautionary measures it could take to secure supplies.

• Poland said Russia's cut in gas deliveries to Ukraine has reduced Poland's supplies by 14 percent, but officials assured consumers the shortfall would be covered with domestic reserves. Economy Minister Piotr Wozniak said on Sunday talks were underway that may enable Poland to compensate by increasing the amount of gas flowing in from Belarus.

• Hungary's natural gas imports from Russia via Ukraine have dropped by more than 40 percent, according to oil and gas group MOL. The firm said it would cut gas transit to Serbia and Bosnia by a similar amount.

• Austrian oil and gas group OMV said its Russian gas supplies were down by around a third. OMV said it could cushion the cuts by tapping reserves and increasing domestic output. It could not rule out limited reductions in supply to its biggest customers if deliveries fell further and temperatures dropped.

• Czech supplies from Russia via Ukraine are so far unaffected, importer RWE Transgas said. The Czechs receive around two-thirds of their gas from Russia, the rest from Norway.

• Supplies of Russian natural gas to Slovakia via Ukraine dropped by 30 percent on Monday, Slovak officials said.

• Croatia's natural gas imports from Russia have fallen more than 30 percent and the economy ministry said there was enough gas for everyone only for the next two weeks.

• Daily supplies of Russian natural gas to Romania have dropped by 5 million cubic meters or 30 percent, Romanian officials said on Monday.

• Natural gas flow to Turkey from Russia, the country's top gas supplier, has not been affected.

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EU welcomes natural gas accord The European Union has welcomed the agreement between Russia and Ukraine ending their dispute over the supply of natural gas. But diplomats in Brussels say they now want to decrease their dependence on Russia by importing more gas from the Middle East, expanding capacity in other energy sources, and increased energy efficiency. The conflict reached a climax this week when Russia shut off the gas to Ukraine, which had the unintended effect of reducing the supply to various other countries in Europe. The five-year agreement almost doubles the price Ukraine will pay for gas, but that is still much less than Moscow was demanding. taken from CNN Russia, Ukraine praise gas deal Moscow and Kiev officials have praised a deal to end a pricing dispute for Russian natural gas that caused shortages in Ukraine and throughout Western Europe. "Two nations won, Russia and Ukraine; Europe won; it is common sense that won," Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov told reporters Wednesday after an early morning agreement was reached between energy officials from both countries. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko also hailed the deal, saying the "Ukrainian economy is mostly ready for new market conditions," The Associated Press quoted his office as saying. His Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin said the agreement would secure stable long-term export supplies for Europe. "This creates stable conditions for Russian gas supply to European customers for many years ahead," Putin told the head of Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, Alexei Miller, at a meeting, Reuters reported. The agreement was announced in a joint statement at about 10 a.m. (0700 GMT) -- three days after Russia stopped shipments of natural gas to its western neighbour. The Ukrainian natural gas company agreed to a price of $230 per thousand cubic meters of gas, AP reported, citing the head of Russia's gas monopoly, Gazprom. Ukraine had been paying $50 per thousand cubic meters of gas when Russia demanded more from its Western-leaning neighbour. Some observers said political motivations, not commercial ones, appeared responsible for the move, and could signify that Putin wanted to use his country's vast energy supplies to ensure Russia once again becomes a regional power. They noted that Yushchenko was a Western-leaning politician who won election over a Russian-backed candidate a year ago. Ukrainian officials had earlier claimed the price hike is an attempt by Russia to penalize the former Soviet republic for its current foreign policy. Russia maintains the increase will bring prices in line with global gas costs. The Ukraine's new rate of $230 per thousand cubic meters of natural gas compares to $47 for Russian ally Belarus, and $110 for Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, all members of the European Union. The dispute between Russia and Ukraine had underscored the vulnerability of Russia's customers in Europe, sparking debate in capitals across the continent about energy security and supplies. Though Russia rescinded its demand Sunday for a price hike from Ukraine and restored the flow, several countries were reassessing whether they wanted to continue to be beholden to Russia to meet their energy needs. "We must not get fully relaxed, since the original reason of conflict between Russia and Ukraine is not resolved yet," said Janos Koka, Hungary's minister of economy and transportation. He called for alternative energy sources to be explored and for the creation of a strategic storage supply. The security of the gas supply "needs to be on the forefront of our perspectives," he said. Gazprom halted deliveries to Ukraine on Sunday after Kiev refused to meet its demands for a fourfold price increase. The company -- which provides a quarter of Western Europe's natural gas needs, 80 percent of which flows through pipelines that cross Ukraine -- said it had planned to continue shipping full supplies to those customers. But shortly after supplies to Ukraine were halted, other countries began reporting reduced pressure in their pipelines -- some by more than 30 percent. Russia responded by accusing Ukraine of stealing gas that was intended for other European countries. Ukraine vigorously denied the charges but said it might have to tap some gas if temperatures fell below freezing. taken from Reuters European customers hit by gas cuts European countries were enduring reduced gas supplies at the height of winter after Russia halted its deliveries to Ukraine. Central European countries rely heavily on Russia for gas. Western Europe gets 25 percent of its gas from Russia -- 80 percent of it via Ukraine. Most is destined for Germany with some also going to France, Italy and Austria. Some of Russia's European gas customers are already feeling the impact of reduced supplies. This is how they are coping. • Germany, which gets more than one third of its natural gas from Russia, said it has enough stored gas to last up to 75 days. The country's largest gas supplier E.ON Ruhrgas said its big customers may be hit if the delivery cut turned out to be long and the winter remained cold. Chief Executive Burckhard Bergmann said he saw no problems for smaller customers, including households and small businesses. • Italy's Eni, which gets about 30 percent of its gas from Russia, said supplies from Russia were down 24 percent from normal levels. Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni said at the weekend gas stocks covered 15 days' consumption, but added Italy exports gas-generated electricity to European neighbors and might run down gas stocks faster than forecast. • French utility Gaz de France said it is following the situation very closely and looking at precautionary measures it could take to secure supplies. • Poland said Russia's cut in gas deliveries to Ukraine has reduced Poland's supplies by 14 percent, but officials assured consumers the shortfall would be covered with domestic reserves. Economy Minister Piotr Wozniak said on Sunday talks were underway that may enable Poland to compensate by increasing the amount of gas flowing in from Belarus. • Hungary's natural gas imports from Russia via Ukraine have dropped by more than 40 percent, according to oil and gas group MOL. The firm said it would cut gas transit to Serbia and Bosnia by a similar amount. • Austrian oil and gas group OMV said its Russian gas supplies were down by around a third. OMV said it could cushion the cuts by tapping reserves and increasing domestic output. It could not rule out limited reductions in supply to its biggest customers if deliveries fell further and temperatures dropped. • Czech supplies from Russia via Ukraine are so far unaffected, importer RWE Transgas said. The Czechs receive around two-thirds of their gas from Russia, the rest from Norway. • Supplies of Russian natural gas to Slovakia via Ukraine dropped by 30 percent on Monday, Slovak officials said. • Croatia's natural gas imports from Russia have fallen more than 30 percent and the economy ministry said there was enough gas for everyone only for the next two weeks. • Daily supplies of Russian natural gas to Romania have dropped by 5 million cubic meters or 30 percent, Romanian officials said on Monday. • Natural gas flow to Turkey from Russia, the country's top gas supplier, has not been affected. • Greece's state-controlled gas importer DEPA said the flow of gas was normal. 2006-01-04
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EU welcomes natural gas accord