Sweden will become the fourth European country ready to provide Ukrainian road builders with temporary bridge structures for the resumption of traffic, First Deputy Head of Ukravtodor Andriy Ivko has said.
“Sweden has begun the process of providing assistance to Ukraine to supply critically needed six modular bridges. Currently, preparations are underway to organize transportation,” Ivko said in an interview with the CFTS.
He said that in addition to Sweden, Ukraine received bridge structures from the Czech Republic, France and Norway. And the Czech Republic, in addition to the six temporary bridges already sent to Ukraine, plans to transfer another 12 bridges.
Import changes in % to previous period in 2021-2022
Daten: SSSU
PJSC “Ukrgazvydobuvannya” (UGV) drilled 47 new wells, which is an indicator that is almost the same as before the war, the group “Naftogaz” reported in Telegram-channel in the evening of December 27.
“47 new wells were drilled by Ukrgasvydobuvannya this year. This figure is practically the same as before the war. Ten months of full-scale war, constant shelling, and terror of the energy infrastructure have made our specialists even more motivated and angry,” the group noted.
As Naftogaz informed, Ukrainian gas producers are losing the rate of gas production in eastern Ukraine, but methodically increasing it in the west.
“Our gas producers managed to achieve record drilling rates. In October 2022, the drilling division of Ukrgazvydobuvannya – Ukrburgaz – set a record for the monthly drilling footage – 30,505 m,” also stated in “Naftogaz”.
As it was reported, Ukrhazvydobuvannya launched 50 new wells in 2021 against 41 in 2020.
At the same time, UGV in 2021 reduced the gross production of natural gas by 3.7% (by 527.3 billion cubic meters) compared with 2020 – to 13.666 billion cubic meters, marketable gas – by 3.6% (477.7 billion cubic meters), to 12 billion 932.5 million cubic meters. In addition, in 2021 the Company decreased the production of liquid hydrocarbons by 3.7% (by 23.4 th. tons) to 614.5 th. tons.
In 2021 UGV drilled 50 new wells and connected them to the surface infrastructure, performed 243 well workovers, performed 609 coiled tubing operations, 105 hydraulic fracturing operations, 11 sidetracking operations, equipped 77 wells with the system of mechanized mining.
Naftogaz of Ukraine owns 100% of Ukrgasvydobuvannya shares.
Oil prices are changing weakly on Wednesday morning amid low trading volumes during the short pre-New Year’s week.
Investors are assessing the supply and demand situation in the global fuel market and are closely following news from China and the United States.
The value of February futures for Brent at London’s ICE Futures Exchange didn’t change since yesterday’s close of trading and was $84.33 per barrel by 7:15 pm (KSC). At the end of Tuesday’s trading these contracts rose by $0.41 (0.5%).
The price of WTI futures for February at electronic trades of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is $79.58 per barrel by that time, which is $0.05 (0.06%) above the final value of the previous session. The contract fell by 3 cents (0.1%) to $79.53 per barrel at the end of last session.
The oil was traded in plus for the most part of the session the day before on the news that Chinese authorities would cancel obligatory quarantine for those coming to the country since January 8. Analysts believe that the removal of the last restrictions will accelerate the growth of the world’s second-largest economy and increase the demand for fuel.
The market was also supported by reports that the production of petroleum products at major U.S. refineries was suspended due to a snowstorm. As early as Tuesday, however, operations began resuming.
“Throughout 2022, lockdowns in China led to sharp short-term drops in demand, and now many are raising their expectations for 2023,” said Robbie Fraser of Schneider Electric. – But recession risks and rising interest rates remain major negatives for oil futures, limiting any attempt to move higher.
The state’s debt for value added tax (VAT) reimbursement to grain trader Prometey for part of last year and this year reaches hundreds of millions of hryvnias, with its reimbursement now being spotty and according to non-transparent criteria, Rafael Goroyan, owner of the grain trading holding Prometey, said.
“The state owes Prometey a big VAT refund for more than a year, since before the war. We are patiently waiting for the VAT refund, but our patience may come to an end. Now it is reimbursed in a pinpoint manner, according to unclear criteria, as in the times of Yanukovych (ex-President of Ukraine – IF), when the tax was “discounted,” suitcases were carried, etc. But Prometey Company has its own principles. We never gave any bribes for VAT refunds because it deprived us of competitiveness,” he told Interfax-Ukraine.
“They (tax authorities – IF) want to “negotiate” and we always quarrel – we do not want to “be friends and communicate” with anyone. We do not create an ‘intimate environment,’ so we have conflict all the time,” the head of Prometey stressed in an interview.
“Our principles are much more important than money. Thank God, Prometey is developing, employees’ salaries are being paid, but if we get dirty in the mud of corruption, we won’t be able to wash off,” he added.
According to him, an effective way of dealing with government agencies is to ask for help from the media and hold actions with the participation of Prometey employees and their families.
“If we had to say something loudly, we held large pickets near the tax inspection. When Poroshenko (ex-President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko – IF) was in power, 3500 people from Prometey employees and their family members used to picket when Nasirov (former head of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine Roman Nasirov – IF) was the chief tax collector. It was a whole revolution. In my opinion, a month after that he was kicked out and now he seems to be under investigation,” stressed the owner of the holding.
“When the average business gets angry en masse, everything ends badly. We shouldn’t see the situation when VAT is reimbursed to someone point by point, for some unknown good,” Goroyan concluded.
The grain trader stressed that the issue of actual VAT refund is not just a positive thing for the Ukrainian AIC companies but a necessary condition for their survival in the market.
As reported, the head of the specialized parliamentary committee of the Rada Daniil Getmantsev earlier said that the volume of VAT refund to business in November increased by 20% compared to October and amounted to 13.6 billion UAH, this year such volumes were achieved only in February.
VAT refunds were almost completely stopped after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation on February 24 this year. If it was 18.52 billion UAH in January and 12.07 billion UAH in February, in March – 0.82 billion UAH, and in April and May it was completely absent and resumed only in June, when 9.5 billion UAH were paid, in July it almost stopped again – 0.6 million UAH. However, in August the amount of payments was 9,4 billion UAH, in September – 1,6 billion UAH and in October – 10,9 billion UAH.
Prometey Group provides services in the storage, processing and logistics of crops. Before the Russian aggression the holding owned 33 elevators in the regions of Nikolaev, Kirovograd, Kiev, Khmelnytsky, Zaporozhye, Sumy, Odessa, Kherson and Dnepropetrovsk, during the war the holding purchased one more.
By the end of 2021, the group planned to receive $45 million EBITDA, while in 2020 this figure reached $32.6 million and in 2019 – $30.5 million.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed with the leadership of the investment company Black Rock investments in the reconstruction of Ukraine.
“I spoke to the head of the largest investment fund in the world Black Rock. Got another confirmation that the business of the developed world believes in our victory and is ready to invest in our reconstruction,” he said in a video message on Tuesday.
According to Zelensky, “experts from this company are already helping Ukraine structure our nation’s Recovery Fund.”
“And we are already preparing to participate in the World Economic Forum in Davos. Ukraine’s position and prospects will be presented there,” the president said.
