RosUkrEnergo plans to seek $500 million in damages from Naftogaz Ukrainy, the Ukrainian publication Dzerkalo Tyzhnia (Mirror Weekly) said, citing sources.
The claims will be examined in Stockholm arbitration in March 2011.
The article notes that the Fuel and Energy Ministry and the State Customs Service have proposed deferring Naftogaz’s tax payments in light of the need to transfer 11 billion cubic meters of gas in underground storage to the ownership of Switzerland-registered RUE.
"Owing to the idiosyncracies of the Ukrainian tax system, the budget stands to lose Hr 30-35 billion, according to calculations by Dzerkalo Tyzhnia and sources in the Cabinet of Ministers. Lost revenue from the non-payment by Naftogaz of just two taxes – VAT and profit tax – might total Hr 14-15 billion (excluding penalties for non-payment). Those idiosyncracies will result in a hole in Naftogaz’s budget, a shortfall in working capital, amounting to Hr 15 billion at a minimum," the article says.
That happens to be the limit for Naftogaz’s budget deficit contained in Ukraine’s memorandum with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). "But the total turns out to be more than solid: about Hr 60-65 billion," the article says.
Naftogaz Ukrainy earlier reckoned that the cost of settling the dispute with RUE would total Hr 9.6 billion (about $1.2 billion).
