The heads of the Naftogaz Ukrainy and Itera companies have placed orders for Turkmen gas exports for 2004

The heads of the Naftogaz Ukrainy and Itera companies have placed orders for Turkmen gas exports for 2004. The agreement on this was reached at meetings held today between the Turkmen president Nyyazow and the head of the Ukrainian company, Yuriy Boyko, and the Itera chief, Igor Makarov. This year Ukraine is purchasing 36bn cu.m. of Turkmen gas at 44 dollars per 1,000 cu.m. with payments made equally in cash and in services, such as participation in investment projects and supply of goods. The same conditions also apply to Itera which is purchasing 10bn cu.m. of Turkmen gas this year. According to Igor Makarov, "an agreement was reached with Turkmenistan's president that Itera will purchases the same amount of 10bn cu.m. of Turkmen gas in 2004, too". As was pointed out at the meetings, among the orders for Turkmen gas purchases in 2004, there is a proposal made by Russia's Gazprom on the purchase of 6bn cu.m. of gas, the volume fixed in a 25-year cooperation agreement in the gas sphere concluded between Turkmenistan and Russia on 10 April 2003.