Russian gas giant OAO Gazprom said Friday it had signed an agreement to build a gas pipeline to the Europe Union that would reduce flows through Ukraine. But Polish officials cast doubt on the deal, saying no construction had been agreed and accused Gazprom of using gas as a political tool.
Russian gas giant OAO Gazprom said Friday it had signed an agreement to
build a gas pipeline to the Europe Union that would reduce flows through
Ukraine
. But
Polish officials cast doubt on the deal, saying no construction had been agreed
and accused Gazprom of using gas as a political tool.
The unusual back-and-forth comes as Gazprom has been struggling to turn around
a decline in its exports to Europe and follows Russian President Vladimir
Putin's unexpected public call to revive a project that had been largely
forgotten. European officials and analysts said it wasn't clear whether the
planned pipeline would be completed and suggested the actual target of the
announcement was
Ukraine
,
which ships the bulk of Russian deliveries to
Europe
and
is locked in talks with Gazprom on a discount for its supplies.
Gazprom said its chief executive officer, Alexei Miller, had signed a
memorandum of understanding with the CEO of Polish pipeline operator Europol
Gaz, Miroslaw Dobrut.
"The document envisages the implementation of the Yamal-Europe 2 project
through
Poland
,"
the company said in a press release. A feasibility study will be completed
within six months, it added.
Within hours,
Poland
's
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he didn't know anything about the apparent
deal. Europol Gaz, part owned by Gazprom and
Poland
's
state-controlled gas firm PGNiG SA, said in a statement that the document
signed Friday "doesn't include a decision to build the pipeline and isn't
a legally binding agreement or pledge to conclude any agreements or
contracts."
Mr. Putin on Wednesday ordered Gazprom to examine expanding the Yamal-Europe
pipeline via
Poland
, one
of a series of pipelines intended to circumvent
Ukraine
. Gazprom
embarked on the projects after squabbles with
Ukraine
over
contracts twice in recent years led to cuts in flows to
Europe
,
Gazprom's most lucrative market.
Polish officials have said
Poland
will
decide whether the pipeline will be built, and that only a Polish state-owned
company would be accepted as a builder. "It's not a Polish company,"
Mr. Tusk said Friday, referring to Europol Gaz.
Gazprom said the planned pipeline could be completed by 2019 and carry at least
15 billion cubic meters of gas to
Slovakia
and
Hungary
,
which currently receive gas via
Ukraine
. The
original Yamal-Europe pipeline can deliver up to 33 billion cubic meters per
year.
Mr. Tusk linked Gazprom's statement to Russian attempts to send gas around
Ukraine
.
"
Poland
won't
participate in these political contexts," Mr. Tusk said. "For us, gas
isn't a tool to conduct politics and we very much want, in agreement with
European Union laws, to keep gas issues free of politics."
Russia
and
Ukraine
have
been in talks for months over gas supplies.
Ukraine
has
requested a discount, but balked at Russian demands to give up control of its
gas pipelines or join a Moscow-led trade bloc in return for cheaper gas.
European officials and analysts said Gazprom's statement on the potential
pipeline appeared to be a negotiating tactic as talks have stalled.
"This looks tactical," said one European official. "It all comes
down to the Ukraine-Russia talks. It looks like a bluff."
Gazprom has reacted angrily to attempts by
Ukraine
to
import gas from European countries that pay less. Gazprom's Mr. Miller has said
these schemes looked "fraudulent."
Gazprom has pressed ahead with new pipelines, even as its exports to the EU
slumped by nearly one-tenth last year amid dwindling demand and competition
from cheap coal. In December, it launched construction of South Stream, planned
to take 63 billion cubic meters of gas to
Southeastern Europe
by
2017. Gazprom also wants to increase the capacity of Nord Stream, which takes
gas to
Germany
via
the
Baltic Sea
. Officials have proposed an additional two
pipelines, including one to take gas to the
U.K.
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