NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy in January 2020 received $578.4 million from PJSC Gazprom to ensure natural gas transit during three months, Executive Officer of Naftogaz Ukrainy Yuriy Vitrenko has said.

"In January, Naftogaz received $239.5 million for transit in December, as well as $175.1 million as advance payment for January and $163.8 million for February. Only $578.4 million," he wrote on his Facebook page.

He said that this amount makes up almost a third of the national budget receipts in January 2020. "If we had not actually exchanged claims in the new arbitration for a new transit contract, then in January Naftogaz would have received only $239.5 million, and this would be the last payment for transit," Vitrenko added.

At the same time, he recalled the importance of the "pump or pay" principle laid down in the new contract, since gas volumes actually transported by Ukraine amounted to only 46% of the volumes contracted by Gazprom and fully paid by it.

As reported, the transit contract signed between Naftogaz Ukrainy and Gazprom in 2009 expired at 09:00 on January 1, 2020. A new agreement between the companies on the organization of transportation, a transportation agreement between Naftogaz and the GTSOU, as well as an inter-operator agreement between Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine LLC (GTSOU) and Gazprom were signed late on December 30, 2019, following the results of the tripartite gas negotiations between Ukraine, Russia and the European Commission.

The contract provides for the transit in 2020 of at least 65 billion cubic meters of Russian gas, which in daily terms is 178 million cubic meters. In 2021-2024 transit will be 40 billion cubic meters. Payment for the indicated volumes is guaranteed even in case of less pumping through the Ukrainian gas transportation system.