The chief executive officer of Russia’s gas giant Gazprom Alexei Miller and Ukraine’s Fuel and Energy Minister Yuri Boiko have had a meeting at Gazprom’s head office in Moscow on Thursday.
The work to upgrade the Ukrainian gas pipeline system must proceed in close connection with the development of the unified gas supply system in Russia, Miller said afterwards.
“The Ukrainian pipeline system was created from the outset for the purpose of carrying Russian gas to Europe. As is known, a pipeline is a valuable asset only if it is filled with gas,” he said. But the proposal for a merger is in no way linked with the idea of creating a gas pipeline consortium on the trilateral basis with the participation of Russia, Ukraine and the European companies. This is a different proposal, of a far greater scale,” Miller said.
“Pooling Gazprom and Naftogaz will be an absolutely pragmatic solution. It stems from the common past of the gas industries of our countries, in particular, the common gas pipeline complex, created back in the Soviet era. “I am certain that the unification of the two companies (Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukrainy) will prove a major factor for enhancing the energy security of Europe alongside the diversification of gas supply routes to Europe. In that connection our plans for laying the South Stream pipeline remain unchanged. We expect that by December 31, 2015 there will emerge significant gas transport capacities to deliver gas through a new export corridor,” Miller said.
Miller recalled that at his meeting with Boiko he discussed issues related to the Russian prime minister’s proposal for a merger of Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukrainy.
“On April 30 Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin addressed the Ukrainian side with a specific proposal in Sochi for a merger of Gazprom and Naftogaz. At our meeting today we discussed those proposals in greater detail,” Miller said.