Russian gas accounts for a quarter of Europe’s gas usage and nearly all of it goes through Ukraine.
Naftogaz, whose finances have been shaky for quite a few years and requires constant government support, has said frequently that it has no funds to buy gas for storage.
“We plan to sign the agreement (with Gazprom) soon – at the moment the details are being worked out,” said Naftogaz spokesman, Valentyn Zemlyansky.
The company said it expected a budget deficit of $4.5 billion by the end of 2009, a sum that matches to the 20 Bcm of gas it wants to have in storage for this winter.
The information of the deal remains unclear. It is hard to estimate how much Ukraine will earn from transit fees because gas consumption fell as the global financial crisis takes its tolls on European nations.
Russian gas transit to Europe through Ukraine dropped in the first quarter of 2009 to less than half of 2008 levels – 16.4 Bcm against 34.7 Bcm.
