BOGDAN Sokolovskyi, the President’s Representative on International Questions of Energy Security in Ukraine, said that the expected price of natural imported gas for 2010 would be near $300. The average annual price for the next year will depend on the oil price in the international market and real volumes supply. To diversify its sources of natural-gas supply, Ukraine is looking to Turkmenistan. Present supplies will last until 2015, and Turkmenistan now plans to increase its annual natural-gas production and even double it in the next 5-10 years (€120-150 billion worth of natural gas). Now, Ukraine needs to sign corresponding agreements with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Russia. At the same time, the Ukrainian Ministry of Fuel and Energy is working to bring gas legislation in Ukraine into line with European Union legislation. Ukraine also aims, for October-November, to receive a multi-million euro loan from the European Commission and international finance organizations, as an investment in modernizing its gas-transport system. For the first six months of 2009, Europeans consumed 30% less gas than was stipulated in its Russian deal, while the Russian side said that Europe should pay for all its gas consumption anyway, notwithstanding the numbers on real gas consumption. But the EU has responded that deviations from the contracts should be forgone, as was the case in Ukraine-Russia and Turkmenistan-Russia relations. On the other hand, official calculations suggest that in 2009, total gas consumption went down 7%, with the economic crisis As the main reason for the drop. However, with economic recovery in sight and new gas-electric power stations being launched, an increase in the demand for natural gas was possible. Eurogas President Domeniko Dispensy said that demand should increase by 1% during 2010. On 30 October, the National State Company Naftogas of Ukraine will pay a coupon income for six months on Eurobonds issued in 2004. The bond issue is worth $500 million, interest per annum 8.12%, so the sum of the payment will be around $20 million. Analysts have said that conditions on debt restructuring proposed by Naftogas of Ukraine are not very good, but fair, as the company has financial problems.

Iryna Demko in Kiev