Ukraine has resumed gas imports from Russia, the head of Gazprom said on Friday, easing tensions between the neighbours that had threatened to disrupt gas supplies to Europe. Last week, Ukraine's state energy firm Naftogaz halted Russian gas imports as it sought cuts in prices it regards as exorbitant. Russia ships around a half of its gas exports via Ukraine to Europe, where it meets a quarter of gas needs. Similar gas rows sparked the disruption of onward supplies of gas to Europe in the winters of 2006 and 2009.
"Naftogaz has stopped taking gas from underground storage facilities and resumed Russian gas purchases in accordance with the current contract," Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said. An industry source in Ukraine said Naftogaz plans to import 2.3 billion cubic metres of Russian gas in November. "The imports will total around 115 million cubic metres of gas per day and this means Ukraine will not need to take gas from underground storages," the source told Reuters.
Gazprom has said low volumes of gas in underground storage facilities in Ukraine endanger Russian gas exports to Europe. However, Kiev has said it has enough gas in its reservoirs to ensure the flow to Europe remains unaffected. The ex-Soviet republic, which plans to import 27.3 bcm of gas this year for its own needs, including 26 bcm from Russia, had about 19 bcm of gas in underground storage vaults as of the end of October.
Gazprom said on Thursday that Ukraine owed it $1.3 billion in unpaid gas bills. It was not immediately clear if the debt issue had been resolved. Ukraine Energy Minister Eduard Stavitsky declined to comment. Kiev pays around $400 per 1,000 cubic metres of Russian gas - one of the highest prices in Europe and a burden which weighs heavily on its debt-strapped economy. It has been steadily reducing its Russian gas intake.
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