Greece expects Russian gas by Friday

By George Hatzidakis

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece expects Russian gas supplies by the end of the week, with the shortfall until then covered from other sources, the chief executive of natural gas operator DEPA told Reuters.

Russia started pumping gas destined for Europe earlier on Tuesday for the first time in nearly a week after a contract dispute between Kiev and Moscow left Europeans struggling for gas supplies as winter set in.

Gas accounts for about 20 percent of Greece's energy needs.

"Russian authorities have informed us that gas started flowing to the Balkans at 10 am (3 a.m. EST) this morning, but it has not arrived yet," DEPA CEO Makis Papageorgiou told Reuters. "We expect it to get here in about three days, but not before Friday."

"Tomorrow we will be updated on the situation and will have a better idea of when it will arrive in Greece," Papageorgiou said. "It certainly won't be a full delivery as the transit pipeline has emptied, so the arrival will be gradual."

He said households and industries did not face problems with supply, adding that Greece could cover domestic demand until the end of January from programed purchases of liquefied natural gas (LNG) which is transported by sea.

"We would be happy even if they give us half the amount we usually get for the time being. But even if not, we don't foresee any problems because of already scheduled purchases of LNG from Algeria and elsewhere," Papageorgiou said.

Greece usually needs about 9 million cubic meters of gas daily for customers. It imports about 5-6 million cubic meters a day from Russia, via Ukraine, Moldova, Romania and Bulgaria.

It also imports gas from Turkey after an agreement between DEPA and Turkey's BOTAS, which gets its gas from Azerbaijan, as well as from an LNG plant in Greece.

On Tuesday Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the issue.

"Karamanlis expressed the hope that Putin will do everything possible to find a solution on the issue and secure Russian supplies to Europe in general and Greece in particular," government spokesman Evangelos Antonaros told reporters.

Earlier on Tuesday Bulgaria's state gas monopoly Bulgargaz said it was informed by Gazprom's Balkan distribution unit that no Russian gas was flowing via Ukraine to southeast Europe and accused Ukraine of siphoning off the gas for its own use.

Ukraine blamed a lack of coordination for hampering the flow.