THE European Union has urged Ukraine to upgrade its energy-transportation systems following Monday’s gas pipeline explosion, Ferran Tarradellas Espuni, the official representative of the EU Energy Commissioner Andris Pibalgs, has said. According to the official version presented by the Ukrainian authorities, the explosion on the 56-in diameter pipeline was a result of a “technical failure”, and sabotage and human error have been ruled out.
However, in that connection Mr Pibalgs once again pointed to the urgent need for upgrading Ukraine's ageing energy supply systems: the EU is interested in the upgrade of all supply links that deliver energy resources to the European countries, the energy commissioner said.
According to earlier reports, the leak from the Urengoi-Pomary-Uzhhorod gas pipeline near the Stavishche compressor station (in the Boguslavsky district of the Kiev Region) occurred at 13:15 GMT time on Monday, 7 May. A fire and explosion followed. The blast out a 30-m length of pipe, operating at 74 bar, and threw it 150m away. The fire was promptly extinguished, and there are no reports of injuries; however, a fairly-large area was scorched. Pipeline-operator Gazprom shut the pipe down rapidly, and gas supplies to Europe have been re-routed via the Progress and Soyuz pipelines.
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