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Gazprom CEO, Ukraine’s energy minister discuss stable transit of Russian gas in winter

According to earlier reports, Kiev said it was looking at Russia’s proposal to increase gas volumes to be stored at Ukrainian underground facilities

MOSCOW, September 30 (Itar-Tass) - Alexei Miller, CEO of Russia’s gas utility Gazprom, and Yuri Boiko, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister have discussed bilateral cooperation in the gas sphere, Gazprom reported on Monday.

In particular, Miller and Boiko discussed issues of the preparedness of Ukraine’s gas networks to ensure stable transit of Russian gas to Europe in the winter period. Special attention was focused on the pace of gas pumping into Ukraine’s Naftogaz underground storage facilities.

According to earlier reports, Kiev said it was looking at Russia’s proposal to increase gas volumes to be stored at Ukrainian underground facilities.

“We need 14 billion cubic metres of gas, while the Russian side is insisting on 18019 billion cubic metres. This is the subject of talks,” Ukrainian Minister of Energy and Coal Industry Eduard Stavitsky said in summer.

In June 2013, Gazprom paid Naftogaz an advance payment of one billion U.S. dollars for gas transit. The sum is to be spent by the Ukrainian company to buy natural gas from Gazprom and pump it to its underground storage facilities. Since the beginning of 2012, sum total of advance payments for gas transit has reached 5.15 billion U.S. dollars. According to preliminary estimates, the remaining amount was enough to pay for Russian gas transit via Ukraine till the beginning of 2015. At that time, Gazprom said it saw no possibility to extend an advance payment for gas transit.