Ukraine in August has imported natural gas from Europe at the price of around $255 per 1,000 cubic meters, Energy and Coal Industry Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn has said.
“In theory we could pump [gas] without Russia at the price of $255 – we pay this price for reverse gas. This is $1.2 billion, and we don’t have it now,” he said in an inter view with the Tyzhden weekly.
He said that the refusal of Ukraine to buy natural gas from Russia at $247.17 per 1,000 cubic meters in the third quarter is linked not only with the fact that the price of gas should be smaller thanks to smaller expenses incurred while transporting Russian gas to Ukraine, but also with the fact that Russia was not ready to agree to the conditions of gas supplies for the whole 2015/16 heating season.
“We don’t want to do this not only due to the price, but also due to the hard line of Russia. Russia does not want to define the price for the whole heating season and does not want to sign a trilateral agreement with the participation of the EU. It is very important for us: we need not only the low price, but also guarantees of the stable price for the whole heating season,” Demchyshyn said.
He also said that Ukraine could possibly pass the heating season without Russian gas.
“If we orient to the mild winter, the calculations are the following: we daily consume 200 million cubic meters and daily produce 55 million cubic meters of own gas, and we can pump up to 60 million cubic meters using the reverse mode. We pump no more than 120 million cubic meters every day from underground storage facilities. This is the option for passing winter without resumption of gas supplies from Russia,” he said.
Demchyshyn went on to say that if temperatures are low, Ukraine would not be able to pass peak periods without gas supplies from Russia, as daily consumption would grow to 300 million cubic meters.
“If the winter is very cold, we would require gas flow from Russia. We could pass winter without Russian gas, but only if there were no too low temperatures,” he said.
He expressed hope that Ukraine and Russia would reach an agreement that would suit both parties.
