WASHINGTON, July 17 (RIA Novosti) - Democratic Congressman Gene Green of the Energy and Commerce Committee has told RIA Novosti that while he strongly advocates US export of energy to US allies in Eastern Europe, like Ukraine, US companies will expect to be paid for the delivery of oil or natural gas supplies.
“Sure we want people to pay for it,” said Green of the multibillion debt Ukraine currently has with Russian gas companies.
“I can tell you, if we sell natural gas into the system, into Western Europe, and they have the opportunity to go Ukraine, our folks are going to want to be paid for it too.”
While Green believes Russia should do more to “help their neighbors” in Ukraine, he acknowledged the economic practicality Russian gas companies face in dealing with a nation that will not fulfill its contracts.
Part of Green’s district is the Port of Houston in Texas, the largest foreign tonnage port in the United States. With reports projecting up to 45,000 new jobs created through energy exports, Green sees energy export as a way to bolster economic development in the US.
“I want us to be in the export market,” said Green. Recalling the slogan of a Texas ice cream company (“We eat all we can and sell the rest”) Green said, “I want us to use all we can in natural gas to produce chemicals, electricity, electric vehicles, and I want to sell the rest.”
Ukraine’s gas debt to Russia started snowballing in 2013, when the country found itself amid a deep political crisis. According to the latest estimates, Ukraine owes Russia $5.3 billion in unpaid bills.
On June 16, Gazprom was forced to switch to a prepayment system for gas deliveries to Ukraine after talks on Kiev’s debt repayment and price revisions mediated by Oettinger failed.
