Ukraine's GTS operator has applied to the German energy regulator (Bundesnetzagentur) to participate in the certification procedure for Nord Stream-2 AG, the operator of Nord Stream-2, the UGTSU said.
"We continue to strongly oppose this geopolitically dangerous project, which threatens Ukraine's national security, destroys the European energy architecture and tries to circumvent EU rules. The certification of Nord Stream-2 AG would violate the rights and commercial interests of Ukraine's GTS Operator, which is the basis for our application to the German regulator. "Nord Stream-2 is not aimed at diversifying gas transportation routes and threatens the security of gas supplies to Europe. We consider it our duty to inform our strategic partners of these concerns," said Sergei Makogon, director general of the Ukrainian GTS Operator.
"The Ukrainian GTS Operator hopes that the German Federal Network Agency will soon determine its decision," the statement also said.
The company notes that Nord Stream-2 AG can be certified only if all obligations defined by European legislation are met. European energy law requires that the operator of Nord Stream 2 is completely separate and independent from Gazprom, and that third-party access rules, non-discriminatory, transparent tariffs, apply to the entire pipeline from its terminus in Lubmin, Germany, to its starting point in Ust-Luga, Russia.
In addition, the Ukrainian gas transportation system must be open for use by third parties on the Russian border, regardless of whether that party is from Central Asia or is another Russian gas producer that is not owned by Gazprom.
Sergey Makogon explained the position of the Operator of Ukrainian GTS: "Nord Stream-2 adds a huge amount of unnecessary additional capacity for gas transit from Russia to Europe to the existing capacity, which is already underused, in particular we are talking about the Ukrainian gas transmission system, which is in good technical condition and has almost three times more capacity than Nord Stream-2. Allowing Nord Stream-2 to transport gas under Gazprom's control would irrevocably reduce and reconfigure the Ukrainian gas transportation system, eliminating it as a transit route between Russia and Europe. Therefore, the Nord Stream-2 will not diversify the transit routes, on the contrary - it will displace the Ukrainian gas transportation system as one of the existing routes and concentrate most of the gas transportation from Russia to Europe in a narrow corridor of the Baltic Sea, where the Nord Stream and Nord Stream-2 pipelines will operate in parallel".
It should be noted that PGNiG, Polish state energy company, and its German subsidiary PGNiG Supply & Trading GmbH have applied for the certification process and have already been admitted to the procedure by the German Federal Network Agency. In Ukraine, Naftogaz Ukrainy applied to join the process on October 15.
