Customers in former Soviet republics owe Gazprom more than $2 billion in late payments. But Russia's monopoly supplier of natural gas is in no hurry to collect the money: It wants pipelines instead.


Seeking to guarantee its access to lucrative export markets, Gazprom is gradually taking back the pipelines it lost when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. And republics such as Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, all low on cash but heavily dependent on Gazprom's supplies, may have little choice but to play along.


Ukraine is by far Gazprom's biggest debtor, with arrears currently running at about $1.5 billion. Ukraine has consistently reneged on promises to settle the debt, and Gazprom officials estimate that the country daily siphons off up to 30 million cubic meters of gas without paying.


Nonetheless, Gazprom has never completely cut off Ukraine's supplies in retaliation. The worst punishment Ukraine suffered came in late November when Gazprom halved the flow for six days.


By contrast, Ukraine's second largest gas supplier, Turkmenistan, ran out of patience almost two months ago, shutting off deliveries when Ukraine's bill reached $1 billion. Turkmenistan still has not resumed the supplies.


Why is Gazprom so tolerant? Ukrainian pipelines carry gas for export to traders in Germany, Bulgaria and Slovakia, all of which pay regularly in hard currency. Gazprom hopes to gain control of those pipelines in exchange for debt relief.


"They have offered to pay us in barter, but we are mainly interested in property," said Bogdan Budzulyak, a Gazprom board member who oversees transportation facilities.


Alexander Omelchenko, head of the gas distribution department at the Fuel and Energy Ministry, said that taking a stake in Ukraine's Ukrgazprom was the only way that the Russian supplier could guarantee exports.


"Currently, Ukraine diverts export gas with complete impunity," he said. "But if Gazprom gets a say in the Ukrainian transporter, such decisions could become more difficult."


Also, the chances of the debts ever getting repaid in full are slim, and converting them into shares in pipelines with guaranteed profits is probably the best solution, Omelchenko said.


According to Budzulyak, the Ukrainian government agreed in principle to Gazprom's request for shares in the existing pipelines last summer, soon after the company refused to accept Ukraine's strategic bombers as payment towards the debts. But the deal has not gone far from there because the country has no legislation for privatization of the existing facilities, he said.


In the meantime, Gazprom has set up joint ventures to build three gas compressors designed to increase Ukraine's pumping capacity. "This is just the beginning," Budzulyak said.


But Ukraine is not the only country with potentially lucrative export access. Budzulyak believes that Gazprom needs direct control over pipelines in Belarus, Moldova and the Baltic States as well.


In Estonia, Gazprom has purchased a 30 percent stake in transporter Esti Gaas for an undisclosed sum, according to Yanis Varu, economic advisor at the Estonian Embassy in Moscow. He said that the deal was a straight purchase that did not involve debt forgiveness.


The company has also managed to press cash-poor Belarus and Moldova into pledging some equity in their pipelines, Budzulyak said.


Belarus, which currently owes about $300 million for gas, is finalizing an agreement with Gazprom to hand over a "considerable portion" of pipelines leading to Poland and Germany, according to Budzulak. Belarussian officials could not be reached for comment.


The Moldovan government in December secured a contract for cheaper gas supplies by promising Gazprom shares in Moldgaz. Consumers in Moldova, crossed by lines carrying gas to Romania, the Balkans and Turkey, owes Gazprom about $211 million in back payments.


Budzulyak said that Moldgaz, the local transporter, would give up 51 percent of the pipeline shares under the agreement. But Valery Miron, a Moldgaz official, said by telephone from the Moldovan capital of Chisinau that the company would never offer a majority of shares, adding that the specific terms of the deal would be discussed later.


At Moldova's embassy in Moscow, economic adviser Pyotr Florya said his country was reluctant to pay the debts with pipelines, but that it has no choice. It is totally dependent on Russia for gas, and Gazprom has barred a deal between Moldova and Turkmenistan.


"We cannot import from Turkmenistan without Russia's consent, because Turkmenistan can only deliver to us through Russian pipelines," Florya said. "I understand that Russia has not allowed Turkmenistan to deal with us."


Gazprom's struggle to block Turkmenistan's access to Western markets forced the ex-Soviet republic to launch construction of a multi-billion pipeline through Iran last year. Financing for the line, however, has yet to be secured.