Clean Gas and Muddy Cash

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.