Gazprom Limits Polish Gas Supplies as Reverse Flows Halt

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg

By Marek Strzelecki and Maciej Martewicz Sep 10, 2014 10:36 AM ET

Russia’s OAO Gazprom limited natural gas flows to Poland, preventing the European Union member state from supplying Ukraine via so-called reverse flows.

Polskie Gornictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo, or PGNiG SA, got 20 to 24 percent less fuel than it ordered from Gazprom Export over the past two days and is compensating flows with alternative supply, the company said today in an e-mailed statement. Poland halted gas supply to Ukraine at 3 p.m. Warsaw time today, according to Ukraine’s UkrTransGaz.

Ukraine is seeking to replace some of its Russian gas with fuel from Europe after Gazprom halted its supplies on June 16 in a dispute over debt and prices, echoing spats in 2006 and 2009 that left European customers short of fuel. Gazprom Chief Executive Officer Alexey Miller said in June the company might limit supplies to gas-metering stations where it observed reverse flows.

“It would appear from the outside that stopping reverse flow is something that’s in Gazprom’s interest,” Trevor Sikorski, an analyst at Energy Aspects Ltd. in London, said today by telephone. “Gazprom had said that they were studying any kind of reverse flow and that they would take steps to rectify.”

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-10/poland-says-gazprom-cut-gas-supplies-via-belarus-ukraine.html

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Then there is this:

Russia's Gazprom Denies Reducing Gas Supplies to Poland

17:50 10/09/2014
Updated 6:30 p.m. Moscow Time

MOSCOW, September 10 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's energy giant Gazprom said Wednesday it had not reduced gas deliveries to Poland maintaining their volume at 23 million cubic meters daily.

"Media reports claiming that Gazprom reduced the delivery volume to Poland’s PGNiG company are incorrect,” the company said in a statement.

“Gas volumes currently delivered to Poland remain the same – 23 million cubic meters per day,” the statement said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Ukrainian gas transport network operator Ukrtransgaz said Poland had stopped reversed deliveries of Russian gas to Ukraine, claiming that “Russia started limiting gas deliveries to Poland in order to disrupt reversed deliveries from Poland”.

more...

http://en.ria.ru/world/20140910/192812406/Russias-Gazprom-Denies-Reducing-Gas-Supplies-to-Poland.html

[cosmicone]

1. Again, psyops continue

Much ado about nothing.

Gazprom can limit supplies to any customer at will anyway. If EU wants to circumvent Ukraine's dependence on Russia, they will have to buy gas from Koch brothers.

[Demeter]

2. One or both of these are lies--but why?

Why is it thought a good idea to lie about this?

[happyslug]

3. Several possible reasons for this.

1. Poland may just want to SAY it is supporting the Ukraine and SAY it will reverse flow Russian Natural Gas, when Poland never had any intention of doing so (do to fears that the Russians would cut Natural Gas supplies).

2. Russian may be lying, for when the Natural Gas was cut, Poland agreed NOT to divert, so the Natural Gas was turned back on (or the Natural Gas was NEVER cut for Poland complied with Russian demands NOT to reverse flow the Natural Gas to the Ukraine).

3. The Bloomberg article mentions NO INCREASE IN GAS FLOW, even after Poland asked for more gas. In simple terms, the "Drop" is not a decline is actual flow, but a refusal to increase the flow of Natural Gas from Russia to Poland. i.e. Russia is NOT meeting the "Demand" for Natural gas and thus Russia supply of Natural Gas had "Dropped" below what has been requested.

Remember actions speak louder then words, and in this case we can NOT tell if the Natural Gas flow was cut, threatened to be cut or just flowed like normal.

Just a comment that both sides MAY have good reasons to lie and when that is the situation expect all types of lies. I suspect #3. Polish gas reserves are at 99% capacity but it is also September. Warsaw saw a low temperature of 51 today. Some people would turn on the furnace at such temperatures. School is also started omn September 1,

Polish School Calendar:
http://calendar.zoznam.sk/school-enpl.php

Warsaw Temperatures:

http://www.wunderground.com/weather-forecast/PL/Warsaw.html

Thus Poland may have needed more Natural Gas then it did in August but Russia refused to provide the increase. Thus the "Drop" is a "Drop" in what Poland expected in September NOT what it received when compared to what Russia supplied to Poland.