Gazprom Reported to Have Offered Ukraine 10% Discount

Russian major Gazprom has offered Ukraine a discount of ten per cent following months of negotiations between the two on gas prices, Ukrainian newspaper Kommersant-Ukraine has reported.

Citing an unnamed government source, the newspaper reports that the source says the discount was offered in common with that offered to a number of European customers in the last week. Wingas, GDF Suez, SPP, EconGas, Botas and Sinergie Italiane are all reported to have received a ten per cent discount from Gazprom.

According to the source, Gazprom hopes the offered discount would ensure that Ukraine would not continue to press for lowered prices and would take its contractually agreed amounts of gas, rather than a reduced amount of 33 billion cubic of metres of gas annually. The source said that Gazprom would not consider any further discounts unless Ukraine agreed to allow Gazprom to become a 50 per cent shareholder in the Ukrainian gas transport system, instead of the 33 per cent share Ukraine is currently agreeing to.

No official comment has been made as yet on the reports, with no confirmation of the offer coming from Gazprom, Ukrainian national gas company Naftogaz Ukrainy or Ukrainian Ministry for Energy and Coal Industry.