It is reported that Ms Yury Trutnev Ukraine minister of natural resources said last week that the country has delayed its plan to reduce gas flaring to 5% within three years to 2014.

She said that flaring gas found when extracting oil and considered too difficult and expensive to get to the market sends tonnes of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Both the Energy and Natural Resources ministries have decided to postpone the target date.

The two ministries had previously disagreed over how to stop the country from flaring nearly USD 13 billion worth of gas each year, reinforcing doubts that the country would meet Mr Vladimir Putin PM of Russian 2011 deadline.

Some experts said that Russia, the world's biggest gas exporter is also the leading flarer of gas but by its own calculations it is only the second largest after Nigeria.

For some a fear of government proposed fines combined with the commercial prospect of selling the gas encouraged firms to establish vigorous programs to curb gas flaring. The country's largest oil producer and biggest flarer Rosneft, will spend RUB 67 billion over the next five years on gas utilization.

Gazprom Neft has said that it will invest RUB 17.6 billion in cutting gas flaring in 2008 to 2010.

A World Bank study said that Russia burns off 38 billion cubic meters of gas a year. The government has set a goal of using 95% of associated gas by 2011. Currently, the country flares about 45% of the gas it produces at oil fields.