Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07KYIV1076
2007-05-08 10:48:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Kyiv
Cable title:  

UKRAINE: GAS PIPELINE EXPLODES--SUPPLIES TO E.U. STABLE

Tags:  ENRG EPET ECON UP 
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VZCZCXRO8698
OO RUEHDBU RUEHIK RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHKV #1076 1281048
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 081048Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY KYIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2223
INFO RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 0032
UNCLAS KYIV 001076 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EB/ESC/IEC RGARVERICK
DOE PLEASE PASS TO LEKIMOFF, CCALIENDO
MUMBAI FOR KLEIN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ENRG EPET ECON UP
SUBJECT: UKRAINE: GAS PIPELINE EXPLODES--SUPPLIES TO E.U. STABLE

UNCLAS KYIV 001076

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EB/ESC/IEC RGARVERICK
DOE PLEASE PASS TO LEKIMOFF, CCALIENDO
MUMBAI FOR KLEIN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ENRG EPET ECON UP
SUBJECT: UKRAINE: GAS PIPELINE EXPLODES--SUPPLIES TO E.U. STABLE


1. On May 7 a large explosion hit the Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod
natural gas pipeline in the Tarashcha Region, about 100 km south of
Kyiv, at 14:12 p.m. The explosion took out 30 m of the pipeline
built in 1983, which is capable of shipping more than 30 billion
cubic meters of Russian gas annually to countries in the EU.
Officials from the state-owned gas pipeline company, Ukrtranshaz,
immediately shut off the gas to the affected area and rerouted the
E.U.-destined gas through other pipelines. An interagency meeting
was held today to investigate possible causes of the explosion.


2. Ihor Ponomarenko, Director of Foreign Relations for Ukrtranshaz,
told us that gas was rerouted through the Progress and Soyuz
pipelines, but was unable to say when the damaged portion of the
pipeline would be repaired. Russian language newspapers, however,
have quoted an unnamed Ukrtranshaz official as stating the repairs
could take a week. The Ministry of Emergencies reported that the
explosion caused a fire that was extinguished within two hours and
but that there were no reported injuries from the blast. Although
gas supply to the EU has been virtually uninterrupted, over 32
villages in the region around the blast remain without gas.
Ukraine's national oil and gas company, NaftoHaz, promised to have
supplies to villages restored by May 9.


3. The Ukrainian press also reported that EU Energy Commissioner
Andris Piebalgs spoke on the phone with Ukrainian Fuel and Energy
Minister Yuri Boiko, and was assured by Boiko that gas supplies to
Europe will not be suspended. Boiko said that in addition to
re-routing gas supplies, Ukraine would use underground gas supplies,
if needed, to ensure uninterrupted gas flows to the E.U. (Comment:
Ukraine's gas storage facilities are primarily located in the
western part of the country, so their capability to supply European
customers, if needed, would be unaffected by this blast located
farther to the east.)


4. Minister of Transportation and Communications Mykola Rudkovsky
and Speaker of Parliament Oleksandr Moroz both suggested that the
explosion may have been connected to a recent train derailment near
Kyiv and could be politically-motivated sabotage intended to
destabilize Ukraine. No other officials have publicly offered this
opinion. Energy experts hypothesized, that since the explosion
occurred near the Stavyshche Compressor Plant, it is possible that a
spark from the compressor caused the explosion, and neglected
maintenance and corroded pipes may well have contributed to the
blast. A Gazprom spokesperson stated that the investigation was a
Ukrainian matter and expressed confidence the Ukrainians authorities
would determine the cause of the explosion soon.

TAYLOR