Gazprom Panics Over ‘Sudzha’ Station Controlled By Ukrainian Armed Forces

Russian top management is nervous.

The management of Russian Gazprom is in a panic over the situation in Sudzha in the Kursk region, which is controlled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The “Sudzha” gas metering station, through which gas is pumped to Europe, is not functioning normally: there are not even any personnel there. This was reported by the Moscow Times.

Normal operation of the gas metering station is impossible. Control over the volumes of gas supplied to the Ukrainian gas transportation network for transit in the western direction is not carried out.

The batteries that supported the operation of the measuring equipment have run out, there is no electricity in Sudzha, and there is no technical personnel either. There is currently no opportunity to establish power supply and repair the equipment.

To get out of the situation, Gazprom proposed to the Ukrainian side to move the point of delivery of transit gas from “Sudzha” to the “Dolgoe” compressor station. This station is located 300 kilometers from Ukraine, practically on the border of the Kursk and Oryol regions. According to information from the same sources, the Ukrainian side does not agree to the move.

Journalists note that when sources in Gazprom asked: “And if after some time the “Dolgoe” station ends up under Ukrainian control?” The answer was: “Well, we took the distance with a margin. Although it cannot be ruled out that in the end the gas delivery point will have to be moved all the way to Urengoy.”

The insider seemed to be joking, but the reporters got the impression that the interlocutors clearly did not rule out the real advance of Ukrainian troops deep into Russia.

And these are not the only difficulties that await Gazprom, which is managed by a friend of the Russian president, Alexei Miller. The company will have to persuade European clients in Austria or Slovakia to change contracts. According to the plan, which is currently being discussed in both Moscow and Kyiv, the company Gas Transportation Networks of Ukraine will have to transit not Russian gas, but gas belonging to European buyers, from the beginning of 2025, and receive payment for transit not from Gazprom Export, but from Western companies.

The Ukrainians flatly refuse to sign a new transit agreement with Gazprom.

The Austrians and Slovaks will have to include in their contracts a provision on receiving Russian gas not at the Ukrainian border of their countries, but at the border of Ukraine with Russia — and this border is currently replaced by a constantly moving front line in the Kursk region. Will they agree to “Dolgoe” or some other point on the route of the famous Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod gas pipeline?

The fate of this gas pipeline is currently being decided not by Russian politicians or the Russian monopoly Gazprom, but by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

And the fate of Russian gas transit through Ukraine will be decided in Kyiv. Journalists note that the problems of the “Sudzha” gas metering station will become an additional argument in favor of a radical solution — a complete cessation of this transit.

Why is the “Sudzha” gas metering station important?

Satellite images for August showed that the station was damaged. One of the administrative buildings of the station was almost completely destroyed, as well as one of the sites where the measuring equipment was installed.

Russia will no longer be able to find out the volume of gas that it supplies to European countries, and accordingly the amount that it should be paid for it.

“Sudzha” has internationally recognized certified meters, according to which the contract volume is determined. Thus, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic need indicators to understand how much gas they have received and how much they need to pay for it. However, Gazprom does not currently control the gas metering station.

It should be understood that “Sudzha” does not directly pump gas. This is done by compressor stations located closer to Kursk. The Armed Forces of Ukraine have not yet reached there, gas continues to be pumped, but it is no longer possible to measure the volumes. The Ukrainian route via Sudzha remains one of two available ones for transporting Russian gas to Europe. The second is Turkish Stream, which will apparently remain the only one operating after the contract for transporting Russian gas via Ukraine expires at the end of 2024.

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