Ukraine drafts 2012 budget on gas prices

The Ukrainian budget for next year was drafted using a price for Russian natural gas of $400 per 1,000 cubic meters, the government said. Ukrainian officials are pressing for a revision of a 2009 gas deal with Russia, saying the current mechanism is a financial burden. Kiev pays $400 per 1,000 meters of natural gas currently and that's reflected in a version of next year's budget, Bloomberg News reports. A draft of a revised gas deal with Russian calls for Ukraine's Naftogaz and Russia's Gazprom to create joint ventures for transit and domestic distribution of natural gas, the report adds. The budget development comes as Gazprom Chief Executive Officer Alexei Miller and Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuri Boiko met and "discussed issues of the current and future cooperation," Gazprom said in a statement. Gazprom in 2009 cut gas supplies to Ukraine over contract disputes. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko helped broker a deal for a resumption of supplies. She's serving a seven-year prison sentence on charges she abused her authority when brokering that deal. Naftogaz incurred a $972 million gas bill for November.