Life's no gas for Ukraine in the energy wars

Ukranian households will be greeting 2009 with a sharp sense of deja vu.

It's the third time in two years Russia has turned off the taps.

The dispute behind the old Iron Curtain is ostensibly about Russia collecting long-standing debts.

But it has the kind of intrigue you might find in a Cold War thriller: a power battle in Ukraine, sleaze allegations levelled at top gas executives plus a long-standing economic row over just how much Ukraine should pay to pipe gas from its old Soviet master and neighbour.

Although countries like Hungary lost up to 40 per cent of gas they receive via Ukraine during the brief switch-off in January 2006, it's unlikely this latest flare-up will have the same impact.

But it's re-opened the debate over how much customers across Europe should pay for gas and where we source it...

It means countries can turn to the vast gas fields around North and West Africa's coasts as alternatives.