New Fuel and Energy Minister of Ukraine, Yury Boiko offers to Gazprom the local gas pipelines instead of the main ones.
Photo: Alexander Techinsky
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Gazprom Offered to Come Down to Local Level
Transferring gas transport system of Ukraine to Russia is “out of the question,” said Ukrainian Fuel and Energy Minister Yury Boiko before leaving for Moscow to negotiate with Gazprom. Ukraine is ready to share only the distributing mains that deliver gas to end users in the country and wants the access to gas production in Russia in return.
“What is the good of handing in for concession? In substance, the biggest problem of gas transport system of Ukraine is the lack of financing,” Ukrainian Fuel and Energy Minister Yury Boiko said Monday. “There are no other problems: the load is full, the staff is efficient. We can perfectly control the system ourselves.”
What’s more, Boiko expects Russia to realize that any scenario of leasing, granting concession or transferring under the management the trunk pipelines would be unacceptable because of the over-political nature of the issue.
So, the standing of Ukraine that shaped a week ago in time of the meeting of Russia’s PM Mikhail Fradkov with his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovich hasn’t changed so far. Nevertheless, Boiko arrives in Moscow today to proceed with the gas negotiations with Gazprom.
But Gazprom’s participation in controlling Ukrainian trunk pipelines has been the key provision for maintaining low gas prices for that country. Boiko is expected to come up with another cooperation scenario Tuesday.
Ukrgazenergo (subsidiary of RosUkrEnergo, where Gazprom owns 50 percent, and NAK Naftogaz Ukrainy), could be offered to buy out the stakes in regional gas firms of Ukraine that control local pipelines, shipping the gas to end users. In return, Ukraine expects Russia to provide the access to its gas fields to Ukrgazenergo.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 22, 2006
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