Pipes at the landfall facilities of the ‘Nord Stream 1’ gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, March 8, 2022. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke
WASHINGTON, April 20 – Ukraine is working behind the scenes to persuade Western allies to shift Russia’s natural gas supplies from the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Ukraine’s pipeline, thereby increasing Kiev’s leverage in its conflict with Russia , energy officials told Reuters.
This would force Russia to transport more of its gas shipped to Europe through Ukraine. That would push Moscow to pay more transit fees, which could help defend Ukraine during the war and, in the meantime, keep Russia from damaging Ukraine’s gas pipelines, they told lawmakers and Biden administration officials in Washington last week.
Representatives from Ukraine’s gas pipeline operator and gas company Naftogaz spent a week in Washington meeting with administration officials and congressmen to urge them to persuade Germany and other European allies to accept the plan.
Russia “depends on us transporting gas from Russia to Europe. This is something we can use in our talks with them, and Europe can help,” Olga Bielkova, director of international affairs at Ukraine’s gas transit system operator, said in an interview in Washington.
An official at the White House and Germany’s Commerce Department declined to comment. On Wednesday, Germany said it would stop importing oil by the end of this year, “and then gas will follow,” but didn’t say when.
Germany has already halted Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas project, which was set to double gas supplies to Germany, as punishment for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. The $11 billion project was completed late last year but never started.
Diverting supplies from the existing Nord Stream 1 pipeline could be a tough sell for Germany and the rest of Europe, analysts said.
This “does nothing to increase security of supply for Europe,” said David Goldwyn, a former special representative at the US State Department.
The move could also pose some legal risks. Christian Egenhofer from the Center for European Policy Studies in Brussels said EU measures against Russian imports could constitute an illegal breach of supply contracts.
Russia currently transports 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year to Germany via Nord Stream 1. It transports another 40 billion cubic meters to Europe via the Ukrainian gas transmission system and pays transit fees to Ukraine in US dollars.
Ukraine’s pipeline system has more than 100 billion cubic meters of spare capacity and could easily accommodate Nord Stream 1’s flow.
Daniel Vajdich, an adviser to Naftogaz, said moving Nord Stream 1 to the Ukrainian system “would give Kyiv more clout over Moscow and show the Kremlin that Europe ties its own security to that of Ukraine”.
Officials suggested that 40% of Nord Stream 1’s capacity should be immediately diverted to the Ukrainian pipeline and gradually increased to 100% by April 2023. That would give EU countries time to build up and diversify winter stocks.
Officials said they are also seeking US support for Ukraine to access supplies to LNG terminals in Turkey.
Svitlana Zalischuk, adviser to the CEO of Naftogaz, said Ukraine must soon secure its own gas supply before the winter heating season begins in October.
Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; additional reporting by Kate Abnett in Brussels and Sarah Marsh in Berlin; Editing by Cynthia Osterman