On Saturday before the last, the Trade Union of Workers in the Oil and
Gas Industry tried again to make the government pay wage arrears of several
months. But First Deputy Premier Anatoly Holubchenko spoke only of current
payments.
The purpose was to attract the interest of the relevant persons, supervisors
in the Haz Ukrainy (Gas of Ukraine) State Trading House now being set up
in place of Ukrhaz (Ukrainian Gas), in collecting debts for natural gas
from customers. According to Naftohaz (Oil & Gas) Director lhor Bakai,
each of them will have a certain share for every Hr 1000 of paid debt.
As Mr. Holubchenko informed trade union leaders and managers of the branch
enterprises at the meeting, from November 1 all payments for natural gas
consumed in Ukraine will be transferred to Naftohaz Ukrainy (except for
those due local budgets).
During the meeting it became clear that despite the categorical nature
of the Deputy Premier's statements, even on this issue not everything was
clarified. During the meeting Mr. Holubchenko several times called upon
managers of Ukrhaz (where gas money used to be concentrated) to stop fighting
and "side with the government," while Ukrhaz chief Stanislav Slobodian
sat indifferently on the left side of the presidium.
A short discussion between Holubchenko and Bakai gave a fundamentally
new turn to the polarization of gas-related forces. If the latter advocated
selling natural gas in Ukraine on the basis of bids and thanked the government
in advance for such opportunity, the former was driving at restoration
of the so-called regional schemes, assuring that nobody would have any
unfair advantage.
Perhaps the stumbling block here is not the gas supply arrangements,
but the list of gas traders to be admitted to the gas market next year.
Mr. Bakai, who is an expert in the business, told the meeting of his vain
efforts to "wring" something out of the gas traders to at least pay wages.
Under pressure from ferrous metallurgy, Holubchenko (who heads its association),
cannot accept the idea that the inevitable gas debts be laid directly on
state-owned enterprises. In short, the main struggle still lies ahead,
and certain experts state that the beneficiary could be the Unified Energy
Systems of Ukraine Corp., which could become able to pay its Hr 1.4 billion
to the budget if it is allowed to reenter the natural gas market, in particular,
to the metallurgical sector of the market. But it is already no longer
gas but political horse-trading.
The possibility of such bargaining also could come about with Ukrnafta
(Ukrainian Oil) also should not be ruled out also: a recent Ukrnafta shareholders'
meeting judged the performance of its board of directors as unsatisfactory:
the oil and gas produced by the company went to agents, and the money flowed
into to the sand.
Mr. Holubchenko made his contribution to the accumulation of oil and
gas secrets. Answering the question about the possibility to pay off debts
owed to gas producers, he hinted that this depends on positions of managers
of the two principal Ukrainian oil transportation companies, Liubomyr Buniak
and Stanislav Vasylenko, as well as on the deputy chairman of the State
Committee on Oil, Gas, and the Oil Refining Industry. According to the
experts, the matter concerns the dispute over construction of the Odesa
oil terminal. In this case Holubchenko seems to be bluffing a little. If
those companies do have money, the oil terminal will naturally draw it
in.
Incidentally. Kyivtranshaz, an Ukrhazprom subsidiary, urged its debtors,
Kyivhaz, ($6.8 million) and Kyivenerho ($282 million) to pay off their
debts, threatening them with legal action, picketing, and even shutting
off their natural gas supply.







