Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the history of the natural gas wholesale market in Ukraine from the point of view of the "Gastraders". We define the Gastrader as a company which imports and sells to industries. Gastraders are said to be one of the most profitable businesses in Ukraine because of its market scale and non-monetary transaction. Generally speaking, there are three periods in the history of the gas market.
The first period is the period of state monopoly (up to 1995), the second is the period of the regionally divided system (1996-97), and the third one is the period of NaftoHaz (Ukraine's state gas monopoly) and ITERA (Gazprom's favorite).
Throughout. these periods, external pressure (IMF and Gazprom) as well as the internal political situation took effect on the policy making of the gas market.
