Russia, Ukrained Reached Gas Supply Agreement

Russian gas giant Gazprom and Ukrainian government have reached an agreement on natural gas supply.

The agreement unveiled on Thursday was signed by Alexey Miller, Gazprom’s chief executive, and Oleg Dubina, who heads Ukraine’s state-owned oil and gas company, Naftogaz Ukrainy. Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukraine’s prime minister, hailed the deal as a success.

The accord removes controversial middlemen companies from the multi-billion dollar gas trade between Russia, Ukraine and Central Asian gas suppliers, a demand championed by Ms Tymoshenko in recent years. It also preserves a purchase price for Central Asian gas for this year of $179.5 per 1,000 cubic metres.

Ukraine agreed to pay a higher rate of $315 for Russian gas consumed without a contract from January through February.

Ukraine also opened the door for Gazprom affiliates to sell up to 7.5bn cubic metres of gas to industry, the country’s best paying consumer.