Interfax quoted members of the Expert Council on the Development of the Gas Industry and Natural Gas Market said the creation of a gas transport consortium involving Ukraine, Russia and the European Union would increase economic efficiency and lower risks of political pressures. This would be the most optimal choice.

Mr Ihor Karp honorary director of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences' Gas Institute said "A three-sided consortium would prevent economically ineffective decisions from being made in favor of political interests. We always lose in a bilateral consortium."

Mr Leonid Unihovsky secretary of the Export Council and general director at LLC Neftegazstroiinformatika said "Russia should give guarantees on transit volumes while European companies would ensure demand for this gas, as well as invest fund in modernization and reconstruction of Ukraine's gas transportation system."

He stressed that securing guarantees on transit volumes is a first-order priority for Kyiv in its negotiations for maintaining the Ukrainian gas transportation system. Mr Unihovsky said that Slovakia is becoming Ukraine's partner because of the construction of bypass gas pipelines. Slovakia stands to lose 25 billion to 27 billion cubic meters in annual gas transit.

The president of Ukraine Oil and Gas Academy and former Deputy Fuel and Energy Minister, Mr Bogdan Klyuk said that the country needs to receive guarantees that the gas transportation system will be filled, adding that total transit could decrease from 120 billion cubic meters to 80 billion cubic meters a year.

He said that the modernization of Ukraine gas transportation system necessitates a reduction in costs for fuel gas. Mr Klyuk added that Ukrainian industry is already produce piping and other equipment of the necessary quality which would help boost pressure in pipelines and double the distance between gas pumping stations to 200 kilometers.

(Sourced from Interfax)