РОССИЯ И САУДОВСКАЯ АРАВИЯ: СТАБИЛЬНОСТЬ НА РЫНКЕ

PLATTS - Talks between the European Commission, Russia and Ukraine at "expert" levels in Brussels this week resulted in the parties revealing their expectations for the arrangements for Russian gas transit via Ukraine post-2019, an EC representative said Friday.

A new series of trilateral talks aimed at securing terms for transit of Russian gas via Ukraine after their 10-year agreement expires at the end of 2019 were held at ministerial level in July, with all parties agreeing to further negotiations throughout 2018.

"This week's meeting allowed for better understanding of initial positions and expectations of the parties on key parameters of the possible future transit framework, namely the legal environment, the future transmission system operator in Ukraine and approach to the tariff methodology," the representative told S&P Global Platts.

Russia's willingness to discuss post-2019 transit terms has been seen as a positive signal for the EU's gas security, as the European Commission had been worried that the EU could face supply disruptions if transit through Ukraine became blocked by either side failing to agree on new terms.

The latest meeting held in Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday was the first since the July ministerial gathering.

Another round of talks at "expert" levels is expected toward the end of September, the representative said.

NEW PIPELINES

Russia has said it is ready to agree on a post-2019 gas transit contract with Ukraine and to consider using that route to meet expected higher EU gas demand.

However, Moscow also hopes to have its 55 Bcm/year Nord Stream 2 pipeline and its 31.5 Bcm/year TurkStream link ready to flow gas to Europe by the end of 2019, leaving only limited volumes for transit via Ukraine.

Russian gas company Gazprom estimated its sales to Europe and Turkey may reach 205 Bcm or more in 2018.

Gazprom sent 94 Bcm through Ukraine to Europe last year, the highest amount since it brought its 55 Bcm/year Nord Stream gas pipeline to Germany online in 2011.

Gazprom has previously said volumes through Ukraine could fall to 10-15 Bcm/year after 2019, assuming Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream come online before then.

There is, however, a risk that first gas through Nord Stream 2 may be delayed till after 2019, which would force Gazprom to continue sending large volumes via Ukraine until Nord Stream 2 was available.

The EC has previously helped Russia and Ukraine negotiate gas supply deals with each other to ensure their ongoing legal disputes did not disrupt transit to the EU, but has not been involved before in agreeing on transit terms.

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Earlier:

2018, September, 14, 12:35:00 U.S. AGAINST NORD STREAM PLATTS - In a meeting with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak in Moscow, US Energy Secretary Rick Perry reiterated US opposition to the expansion of the Nord Stream pipeline from Russia, claiming it would hurt European allies and distort energy markets. Русский | English

2018, September, 7, 12:29:00 TURKSTREAM'S PROGRESS GAZPROM - the TURKSTREAM project was going according to schedule. Specifically, the deep-water pipelaying for the offshore part of the gas pipeline’s first string had been completed in the Black Sea along with the construction of the second string in Russia’s exclusive economic zone. Русский | English

2018, August, 31, 11:25:00 RUSSIAN GAS FOR EUROPE UP PLATTS - Russian gas supplies to Europe and Turkey rebounded in August, according to data released by gas giant Gazprom, after a dip the previous month during the planned outage of the main Nord Stream gas pipeline to Germany.

2018, August, 13, 13:50:00 RUSSIAN GAS FOR EUROPE PLATTS - Russian state-owned gas producer and transporter Gazprom filed a complaint with the WTO about the legislation in April 2014, arguing Russian infrastructure was being treated unfairly. Since then, constraints on access to OPAL have been lifted, resulting in flows via Nord Stream increasing to full capacity of 155 million cu m/day. The decision is therefore not expected to be market moving. Русский | English

2018, July, 4, 12:15:00 NORD STREAM 2 FINANCING REUTERS - “The project will definitely be financed. It is important for Gazprom and Russia currently has a high liquidity in euros,” Paul Corcoran, the Nord Stream 2 CFO, told Welt am Sonntag in an interview.

2018, July, 2, 11:55:00 NORD STREAM-2: NO SANCTIONS REUTERS - Germany has been assured by the United States that any sanctions imposed on Russia will not affect the building of a gas pipeline to bring Russian gas to Europe, a spokeswoman for the German economy ministry said on Friday.

2018, March, 14, 11:35:00 NORD STREAM NIGHTMARES U.S. OGJ - Sandra Oudkirk, deputy assistant secretary for energy diplomacy at the US Department of State’s Bureau of Energy Resources, said Nord Stream 2 matters to the US because it would cement a transportation system in place that could perpetuate dependence on Russian gas for some key US allies. “It would not increase the amount of gas coming into Europe, only replace volumes that now are being transported through Ukraine,” she said.