Gazprom expects Kiev to hike transit fee

MOSCOW, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Russian energy monopoly Gazprom said it expects Kiev to hike the transit fees for Russian natural gas by as much as 58 percent in 2010, a spokesman says.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko met her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin earlier this week in Poland on the sidelines of World War II memorials to discuss bilateral gas relations.

Around 80 percent of all Russian natural gas for its European customers travels through Soviet-era pipelines in Ukraine.

Gazprom in January cut gas supplies to Ukraine following disputes over gas contracts and debt, as the Ukrainian economy faced huge pitfalls during the economic recession.

International lenders came forward recently with a substantial financial aid package to help Kiev cover its gas debts in exchange for reforms in its banking and energy sectors.

As part of those reforms, both sides expect gas transit fees to increase by 2010. Gazprom pays Kiev about $1.70 per 1,000 cubic meters of natural gas for every 100 kilometers of pipeline, notes RIA Novosti.

"Gazprom's current forecast (for the gas transit fee) for next year is $2.56-$2.7 per 1,000 cubic meters per 100 km," said Sergei Kupriyanov, a spokesman for the Russian gas giant.

Tymoshenko said in statements posted on her Web site Thursday that Kiev would raise the transit fee by at least 65 percent, depending on oil prices.