You're reading: Prodan: Price for Russian gas could stand at $368.5

The price of Russian gas exported to Ukraine could stand at $368.5 per 1,000 cubic meters in the second quarter of 2014, Ukraine's Energy and Coal Industry Minister Yuriy Prodan has said. 

“We expect Russia to export gas to us at $368.5 per 1,000 cubic meters,” he told reporters in Kyiv on Sunday.

Ukraine continues repaying debts for gas, and there are no reasons to halt gas exports, he said.

“Gazprom has not been taking any steps of late. Our last year’s debt amounts to $1.5 billion. We managed to transfer about $100 million to Gazprom last week in repayment of our debt for January, and we have started repaying the debt for February which amounts to around $440 million,” Prodan said.

Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller told the press on March 7 that Ukraine’s growing debts for Russian gas were generating a new transit crisis.

“March 7 was the deadline for February payments. Gazprom had not received any debt payments by that time. Taking the discount for the first quarter into account, the overdue debt had increased to $1.89 billion” Miller said.

“In fact, this means that Ukraine has stopped making payments for Russian gas, which is absolutely at odds with the contract and with international trade practice. We, on our part, have always honored our contract obligations and will continue doing so. But we cannot export gas for free. Ukraine will have to repay the debt and make regular payments for the current gas shipments, or face the risk of retuning to the situation that emerged at the start of 2009. We will keep the Russian government updated on the situation,” Miller said.

The early 2009 transit crisis, when Europe remained cut from Russian gas supplies for 20 days, could re-emerge for the first time over the past five years.