KIEV: Ukraine’s gas consumption decreased by 1.3 billion cubic metres compared to 2016 from 33.2 to 31.9 billion cubic metres, representing a decrease of 4 percent, Ukraine’s national oil and gas company Naftogaz said. Household consumers used 11.2 billion cubic metres of gas in 2017, which is 0.7 billion cubic metres less than in 2016 (6 percent decrease), Naftogaz said in a press release on February 6. Industrial users cut their consumption by 0.6 billion cubic metres (from 9.7 to 9.1 billion cubic metres, a decrease of 6 percent). Operational needs for gas production, transmission and distributions as well as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) production grew by 16 percent from 3.8 to 4.4 billion cubic metres.
According to Naftogaz, the growth in this category was primarily due to Russian gas transit through Ukraine, which increased by 11.3 billion cubic metres from 82.2 to 93.5 billion cubic metres. For over 85 percent of days in 2017, Gazprom was not ensuring the contractual gas pressure in the Russian gas transmission system at entry points to the Ukrainian gas transmission system. The operational needs of Ukrtransgaz, therefore, increased by 29 percent reaching 2.2 billion cubic metres.
According to Naftogaz, in 2017, Ukraine covered its gas import requirements with supplies from the European market. Compared to 2016, gas imports increased by 27 percent from 11.1 billion cubic metres to 14.1 billion cubic metres. Private traders and gas consumers increased both volume and share of gas imports last year, almost doubling their imports compared with 2016 from 2.9 billion cubic metres to 5.4 billion cubic metres. Meanwhile, delays in extending and granting licenses by the State Geology and Mineral Resources Service of Ukraine, the blocking of licensing processes by regional councils, and the overregulated land allocation procedure have all hampered a higher growth of gas output. Prices, conditions, and supply procedures are set out in the regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Because of the existing regulatory regime, Naftogaz does not supply to households directly but to designated private intermediaries who supply the gas to the households.
