Due to the annexation of Crimea by Russia the damage caused to Ukraine from the loss of energy facilities, including shelf deposits, is assessed at $300 billion, Energy and Coal Industry Minister of Ukraine Yuriy Prodan has said.
“Taking into account all energy facilities in Crimea we could speak
about hundreds of billions of dollars that Ukraine has lost in the
energy area. We calculated that this is around $300 billion,” he said in
an interview with the Glavkom online publication.
The minister said that the potential deposits of the Black Sea shelf reach some 2.3 billion tonnes of conventional fuel.
“If we transfer to gas, this is some 2 trillion cubic meters of gas.
When our company Chornomornaftogaz was seized, we at once lost 2 billion
cubic meters of gas in the company’s gas storage facilities,” the
minister added.
Prodan said that Crimea is Ukraine’s territory, but it is temporarily occupied.
“This is a serious loss for Ukraine’s energy sector. But this is our
land, and the time will come when we’ll get it back,” he said.
The minister also said that if there were to be a shortage of
electricity on the continental part of the country in the autumn and
winter heating period due to damage of generating facilities due to
armed hostilities in Donbas, Crimea will have restricted electricity
supplies.
“If entities staying there do not pay for electricity, we’ll simply
disconnect them. If Ukraine in the conditions of the autumn and winter
period faces a shortage of electricity, of course, supplies to Crimea
will be restricted. If Ukraine suffers from the situation in Donbas,
Donetsk and Luhansk regions, if the generating facilities are damaged
there, the restrictions will affect Crimea,” Prodan said.
As reported, Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko said that the Justice
Ministry of Ukraine has assessed the losses caused to Ukraine due to the
annexation of Crimea by Russia at over Hr 1 trillion as of middle of
May 2014.
The State Council of the Republic of Crimea announced that the
continental shelf of the peninsula is in the ownership of Crimea, as
well as the property of state enterprise Chornomornaftogaz and Feodosia
enterprise on providing oil products.
