In the event of a complete stoppage in Russian natural gas transit via Ukraine, Europe will experience a gas deficit of as much as 56 billion cu m (bcm) during 2014, said Moody’s Investors Service in a recent Global Credit Research report. Such a shortfall would predominantly affect Italy, Turkey, France, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Austria. Warmer weather conditions, however, seasonal reductions in demand, and relatively high current gas stockpiles would to an extent mitigate the negative effects, Moody’s said. Ukraine also officially confirmed earlier this week that it would deliver gas to Europe under its 11-year transit agreement with Gazprom signed in 2009. The evolving situation in Ukraine adds uncertainty to the reliability of Gazprom’s natural gas exports via Ukraine’s 143 bcm/year Soviet-era pipeline network, which connects Gazprom’s gas transportation system with the European gas network in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova, said Moody’s. Prolonged turmoil […]