KIEV, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine is discussing with Western partners over a joint management of Ukraine's natural gas transit network, the state-run energy firm Naftogaz said on Monday.
"To provide additional comfort to European gas buyers, Ukraine is discussing a joint venture with reputable Western transmission system operators to co-manage its gas transmission system," Naftogaz said in a statement.
The statement did not specify the companies or the countries which are involved in the negotiations.
In 2014, the Ukrainian parliament passed an energy system reform bill to allow Naftogaz to create joint ventures on managing the country's gas transit network with the companies from the European Union and the United States.
Ukraine has the second-largest gas transportation system in Europe, consisting of 37,600 km of gas transit pipelines and 12 underground storage facilities.
Last year, Ukraine has pumped 82.2 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to European countries, which accounted for 46 percent of Russia's overall gas supplies to Europe.
