EurActiv: Why the Ukraine crisis is not an energy quake
The common feeling that the ongoing Ukraine political crisis could negatively impact European energy supplies, and therefore worsen the post-2008 European economic malaise is somehow a false perception based on misinterpretations of recent trends in European energy markets, and is leading to miscalculations of existing and potential risks.
“Ukraine certainly plays a central role in transiting Russian natural gas to Europe. In 2013, 86.1 billion cubic meters (bcm) or 52 percent of Russian gas sold to Europe and Turkey went through Ukraine’s territory. Kiev is also an important client of Gazprom, purchasing significant volumes of Russian gas. In 2013, the country has bought 27.7 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas.
The issue of gas pricing and debt to Russia’s Gazprom has complicated bilateral energy relations between the two countries. This friction began years before the current political crisis. In 2009, there was a two-week long interruption of Russian gas supplies, preceded by another supply crisis in 2006.