Reverse gas is one of the most common economic and political concepts, often found in publications and news. The phenomenon is not new and is considered very often in the history of the countries of the post-Soviet space. Let's try to figure out what it means to reverse the gas.
What is reverse?
Reversal of gas is a rather old phenomenon, the controversy regarding which has been carried out since the presidency of Yanukovych. In economic practice, the phenomenon is associated with return gas supplies. In other words, after the buyer receives fuel from the seller, he redirects it in the opposite direction. If we consider the concept on the example of Ukraine, it will have some features. This is due to the underdeveloped structure of gas pipelines, which distorts the structure of the fuel transfer itself. Simply put, the concept implies the sale of gas from a supplier, in the case of Ukraine, this is Russia, to another country, at a better price. For example, Poland's transfer of Russian gas to Ukraine is a reverse.
Distinctive characteristics of the Ukrainian reverse
Reverse throttle toUkraine has its own unique scheme and specificity. The territory of Ukraine is Russia's road to Europe, since it is through its expanses that gas has to be sent to the EU. When transporting fuel through the country, part of it remains in Naftogaz. In fact, the percentage of the volume of transported fuel (10% earlier) is usually called “reversed”. The specifics of the redirection of the gas flow within the state is that there is no separate, specially equipped pipeline for returning gas to the country from Europe. The situation when Ukraine retains part of the supplies to itself is conditionally called “reverse”. According to the documentation, the country receives reverse gas from Slovakia.
Let's get acquainted with the legal side of the issue
Due to the specifics of the conditional "return of gas" to Ukraine, it is worth paying attention to the existing contradictions. Russian legislation allows the supply of fuel from Europe only if there is a specially equipped pipeline (physical carrier). In fact, no pipeline from Slovakia to Ukraine existed until 2014. According to the documents, gas becomes the property of the buyer only if it crosses a special checkpoint located on the border between Slovakia and Ukraine, as well as with other countries that are consumers of Russian "blue" fuel. If there is a pipe, the reverse gas from Slovakia will not be legal already for the reason that the official fuel supply agreement clearly and clearly states:Naftogaz in this situation acts exclusively as an operator. The media have repeatedly published publications with forecasts that the "transfer of gas" from Slovakia will not take place. Already at the beginning of September 2014, the process was launched, and now it continues to develop at a rapid pace.
The start of successful cooperation
On August 16, 2014, testing of the pipeline began, which is already delivering gas to Ukraine through the territory of Slovakia. The testing phase consisted of launching and testing the reliability of the system. Representatives of Slovenia have repeatedly expressed their worries about the fact that the reverse tube and the equipment that will be used to transport the energy resource are pretty worn out. Last summer, due to the condition of the equipment, it was problematic for experts to calculate the volume of gas reversed from Slovakia. The Ukratransgaz company completed the entire range of preparatory work at the Uzhgorod station on August 7. All conditions were created for the European gas supply, in particular, numerous technical issues were resolved.
Start of deliveries
Reverse gas from Slovakia was launched on September 1, 2014. The opening of the valve officially took place in the town of Velké Kapusany. It was attended by Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico and Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk. Initially, the reverse was carried out in a control and test mode. "Blue" fuelwas supplied to the country in the amount of 3 billion cubic meters. Already on September 2, the test mode was switched to commercial, and fruitful cooperation began. At that time, forecasts, and today the reality, said that more powerful deliveries would begin as early as March 1, 2015. The commissioning of the Voyany-Uzhgorod pipeline was successful. According to the country's prime minister, the opening of a new fuel supply channel made it possible to reduce the percentage of Ukraine's dependence on Russia. About 40% of the state's needs for fuel have been satisfied. In the future, it is planned to provide 100% full energy security of Ukraine. Huge expenses from the budget were reduced due to the fact that it was the European reverse gas that began to be carried out. The memorandum on reverse deliveries between Ukrtransgaz and Eustream took place on April 28, 2014. Two reverse formats were agreed:
- Small (no more than 2 million cubic meters of fuel per day).
- Large (at least 30 billion cubic meters of fuel during the year).
Savings and more
Fuel savings in 2014 amounted to about $500 million. Today the country uses reverse gas from countries such as Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. Russia is fundamentally determined not to reverse gas to Ukraine, as this will lead to a significant reduction in revenues. Cardinal measures were also taken, in particular, the volume of deliveries from Russia to a number of European countries was significantly reduced.
Sanctions ongas supplies from Russia
Russian Gazprom, in parallel with the formalization of partnership relations between Ukraine and Slovakia, in 2014 began to actively reduce gas supplies. According to the Ekho Moskvy publishing house, after the launch of the new pipeline, the volume of fuel supplied to Slovakia decreased by 25%. Similar actions, but in the direction of Hungary, led to the fact that the state lost one of the most powerful sources of fuel. After Russia cut supplies to Poland, the country suspended the reverse for several days. At the height of the crisis, in early autumn 2014, Moscow closed all channels for Ukraine. The state has established relations with a new partner in the face of Slovakia. Reverse gas to Ukraine is carried out in the promised format. Some time later, Russia not only resumed the entire volume of supplies to Europe through the territory of Ukraine, but also increased it by 7%, which made gas reversal a reality. Gazprom remains the most powerful supplier of "blue" fuel.
Search for an alternative partnership scheme
Amid negotiations and building new partnerships between Ukraine and Slovakia, Russia has offered a discount on direct gas supplies to Ukraine in the amount of $100 per cubic meter. At the same time, a proposal was put forward regarding the exact calculation of the volume of gas separately for the summer and winter periods, which would make it possible to optimize expenditures from the state budget. This format of cooperation was rejected. Starting from March 1, 2015, Slovakia reverses gas to Ukraine, according to UNN, in the amount of at least 10, as envisaged in the first stage of the partnership, but 14.5 billion cubic meters per year. Due to the way gas is being reversed today, Ukraine has covered more than half of its fuel needs. The volume of deliveries to Ukraine due to the reverse today reaches 27 million cubic meters of fuel per day. Initially, the Voyany-Uzhgorod pipeline system could supply gas in the amount of 10 billion cubic meters per year. The remaining 4 gas pipelines are also operating now, providing a bilateral exchange of fuel in the amount of 100 billion cubic meters. Over the past few years, the country's gas pipelines have transported an average of about 55 billion cubic meters of "blue" fuel from Russia to Europe.
