The restructuring of the national joint-stock company Naftogaz of Ukraine planned by the Cabinet of Ministers will lead to reconsideration of the gas agreements with the Russian Gazprom.
This was declared by Prime Minister Mykola Azarov in the press-conference in Kiev on Friday.
Naftogaz of Ukraine will cease to exist as an economic agent, there will be a winding up period and after some time when all the necessary formalities have been settled this market will see some absolutely new companies operating”, — he said.
“And therefore all the agreements that have existed so far will be reconsidered”, — the head of the Ukrainian government added.
Azarov said that the government is working out the structure of Naftogaz at present.
“It is absolutely obvious that there will exist an independent gas-producing company, an independent company, which would deal with gas transportation and this is already a reason enough to reconsider the existing agreements (signed with Gazprom in January 2009) because we will have a new economic agent”, — the prime-minister explained.
It is a known fact that in 2009 Naftogaz and Gazprom signed an agreement for the period of 2009-2019 on gas purchasing and its transit through the territory of Ukraine.
After the presidential elections at the beginning of 2010 the team of Viktor Yanukovich began to demand reconsideration of the agreements stating that they are unfavorable for the country.
The Ukrainian authorities managed to negotiate a 30% discount off the gas price but no more than 100$ per 100 thousand cubic meters, however the condition of the further reconsideration of the agreements on the part of Moscow was creation of a joint venture with Naftogaz.
The gas agreements with Russia as of January 2009 are one of the reasons of the ex-prime-minister of Ukraine Yulia Timoshenko criminal prosecution.
——————
Метки: "Нафтогаз", gas, gas price, Gazpom, politics, Russia/Ukraine gas agreement, Russian/Ukrainian gas scandal
