• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Gas Chief Says Deal With Russia Ensures Ukraine's Energy Security

Posted on: Wednesday, 4 January 2006, 12:00 CST

Text of report by Interfax-Ukraine news agency

Kiev, 4 January: Ukraine has moved to market relations with Russia in the gas sector and has thereby achieved real energy security, [state oil and gas company] Naftohaz Ukrayiny board chairman Oleksiy Ivchenko has said.

"I want to say that this is, without exaggeration, historic. We have achieved real energy security, since we have moved to absolutely market relations between Naftohaz Ukrayiny and Russia's Gazprom," he told journalists on 4 January, commenting on the agreement signed between Naftohaz Ukrayiny and Gazprom.

Ivchenko said that the sides have rejected the practice of paying for gas with transit services. "Now there won't be any barter. We will pay for gas, buying it for 95 dollars on the border of Russia and Ukraine, and Gazprom will pay us 1.6 dollars for transit of 1,000 cu.m. [for 100 kilometres], which will give us 2.4bn a year," Ivchenko said.

Ivchenko said the proceeds received by Naftohaz Ukrayiny for transit services "are more than enough to buy gas at 95 dollars to cover the full balance, even with a surplus".

"Under the president's leadership and with his direct management of the process, with the support of the government, we managed to defend to the full Ukraine's interests in issues of energy security," Ivchenko said.

Source: BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union

More News in this Category