BLBG:Ukraine Will Change Gas Price in State Budget, Zerkalo Says
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Mykola Azarov instructed the cabinet on Dec. 7 to prepare another version of the state budget for next year with a natural gas price of $400 per 1,000 cubic meters, Zerkalo Nedeli reported, without saying where it obtained the information.
The draft of a new gas supply and transit agreement between Ukraine and Russia stipulates that Ukraine’s state-run NAK Naftogaz Ukrainy and Russia’s OAO Gazprom create two equally owned joint-venture companies, one for transit, the other for domestic distribution in Ukraine, the weekly newspaper reported, citing the draft, which it obtained and which is subject to change.
Ukraine’s underground gas storage is also to be in joint ownership, according to Zerkalo.
Ukraine seeks to revise the terms of a 10-year gas supply contract signed with Russia in 2009, with a lower price for the gas it imports. Ukraine pays for Russian gas using a formula that takes account of world oil and gasoil prices.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kateryna Choursina in Kiev at kchoursina@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net
