Ruscist militants caused halt of Russian gas transit to Europe via Sokhranivka gas interconnector

The Gas TSO of Ukraine LLC (GTSOU) reported on the force majeure, which made it impossible to further transmit Russian natural gas through the Sokhranivka gas interconnector point and the Novopskov Border Compressor Station (BCS) located in the territories occupied by the Russian troops. The Novopskov BCS is the first inlet compressor station into the Ukrainian GTS in Luhansk region, through which almost a third of the Russian gas transit (up to 32.6 mcm a day) is routed via Ukraine over to Europe.

As a result of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, a number of the Ukrainian GTS facilities became located in the territory controlled by Russian troops and the occupation administration. Currently, the GTSOU cannot carry out its operational and technological control over the Novopskov BCS and other assets located in these territories. According to the GTSOU, the interference of the Russian armed forces into the natural gas transit technological processes, changes in the modes of operation of the Ukrainian GTS facilities, including unauthorized withdrawal of gas by the Russian militants from the transit stream, endangered the stability and safety of the entire Ukrainian GTS.

The GTSOU stressed out that the actions of the Russian militants fell under the current transit contract force majeure circumstances that made it impossible to fulfill obligations at the Sokhranivka gas interconnection point and the Novopskov BCS , which became out of control by the GTSOU.

Taking into account the above, the GTSOU from 07:00 on May 11, 2022, the Russian gas was not accepted into the GTS of Ukraine at the physical point of the Sokhranivka gas interconnection point. In order to fulfill its transit obligations to European partners in full and in accordance with the terms of the natural gas transit agreement, the GTSOU suggested to Gazprom to temporarily redirect the unavailable capacity from the physical point of the Sokhranivka gas interconnection point to the Sudzha gas interconnection point located in the territory controlled by Ukraine.

The GTSOU repeatedly informed Gazprom about threats of transit of the Russian natural gas over to Eirope due to the actions of the Russian-controlled occupation forces and demanded an end to interference of the Russian militants into the operation of the Russia-Ukraine interstate gas interconnectors, but those FTSOU's warnings were ignored by the Russians.