Egypt has moved from the importers of natural gas to the category of producers due to the discovery of deposits on the Mediterranean shelf, therefore one of the promising areas of cooperation is the export of gas to Ukraine through barter deals for grain and other products, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt Ayman Ahmed Mokhtar Elgammal has said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine. He said this will improve the trade balance – there will be no need to attract foreign currency into the transaction, and will also allow to align the import/export balance, to correct the existing bias towards Ukraine.
At the same time, Ukrainian companies are encouraged to invest in renewable energy in Egypt. However, there are no specific agreements yet, the ambassador added.
At the same time, the official stressed that the Egyptian side is interested in investing in Ukraine.
The main interest of Egyptian companies in projects of agricultural production and animal husbandry, but projects in the energy sector are not yet discussed, he said.
DTEK is considering the possibility of expanding its oil and gas business in Ukraine, CEO of the company Maksym Timchenko has said in an interview with the Ekonomichna Pravda edition.
“We are constantly studying the deposits of all available players on the market. That is, we are open to expanding our business, without exception, with all players, including state-owned companies. If there are such opportunities not only for acquisitions, but also for joint activities, some kind of joint projects in exploration and production, we are ready for this,” he said.
According to Timchenko, in particular, the assets of Geo Alliance group for DTEK are “a potential area of our interest.” At the same time, he did not comment on the details of the negotiations.
As reported, in 2020 DTEK Oil and Gas increased natural gas production by 10.8% (by 180 million cubic meters) compared to 2019, to 1.84 billion cubic meters. In 2021, the company plans to increase gas production to 2 billion cubic meters.
Geo Alliance produced 203 million cubic meters of gas in 2020.
Geo Alliance is under the mandate of the international investment and consulting group EastOne, which unites the assets of Victor Pinchuk. In 2012, EastOne announced a strategic partnership between Geo Alliance and Arawak Energy Ukraine BV, part of the Vitol group of companies, one of the largest operators in the world energy market.
The Slovak Republic has always been a reliable transit country for Russian gas to the West through Ukraine, and it is interested in maintaining this transit through Ukraine, said Prime Minister of Slovakia Eduard Heger.
“As for the Nord Stream 2 Project, it is not in the hands of Slovakia to decide. Slovakia has always been a reliable transit country for the Russian gas to the West through the territory of Ukraine and we are definitely interested in keeping this gas transit through Ukraine. We believe the transit contract between Russia and Ukraine will be fulfilled further on,” Heger said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
Transit of natural gas through the gas transmission system (GTS) of Ukraine in January-April 2021 amounted to 14.1 billion cubic meters, which is 9% less than in the same period in 2020 (15.5 billion cubic meters), according to the statement of Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine LLC (GTSOU).
In particular, 12.5 billion cubic meters of gas were supplied in the western direction as transit (8.4 billion cubic meters to Slovakia, 2.9 billion cubic meters to Hungary, 1.2 billion cubic meters to Poland), 1.7 billion cubic meters to the south (1.3 billion cubic meters to Moldova, and 0.4 billion cubic meters to Romania).
According to Commercial Director of the operator Yevhen Todorov, GTSOU put up for auction for the distribution of additional capacities at interstate entry points from the Russian Federation for May 2021. However, market participants, in particular the Russian side, did not show interest in the proposal.
“Taking into account the seasonal market demand for gas in the EU and limited transportation volumes, starting from April 1, 2021, the price at gas hubs has shown an increase and from the beginning of the year to May 12, it has increased by 36%, to EUR 26.4 per MWh at the NCG hub on condition of delivery one day ahead (about EUR 279 per 1,000 cubic meters),” he said.
In addition, gas transportation from Europe to Ukraine in January-April 2021 amounted to 0.55 billion cubic meters, which is seven times less than in the same period in 2020 (3.87 billion cubic meters). Ukraine received 0.07 billion cubic meters of gas from NCG, 0.48 billion cubic meters from Hungary, while almost no gas was delivered to the country from Poland, Romania and Moldova.
Gas supplies as virtual reverse flow to Ukraine amounted to 0.49 billion cubic meters, or almost 90% of transportation. Gas flow in the “customs warehouse” mode amounted to 0.08 billion cubic meters versus 1.22 billion cubic meters in the same period in 2020.
Gas re-export from Ukraine in the four months ended April 2021 amounted to 0.68 billion cubic meters, while for the whole last year traders almost did not order re-export services.
Romania’s gas transmission system (GTS) operator SNTGN Transgaz has started selling capacity at the point of interstate connection with Ukraine Orlivka/Isaccea-1 on the RBP auction platform since April.
In this regard, the Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine (GTSOU) congratulated the Romanian colleagues in its message, expressing hope for the signing of interaction agreements at other points of connection between the countries.
“GTSOU constantly and systematically works with all its colleagues to ensure that such practices become a reality on each border with Ukraine and contribute to the further integration of Ukrainian and neighboring markets. We are glad that Romanian colleagues have now joined Poland and Hungary. This is another step towards easing the use of the Trans-Balkan Gas Corridor. We hope that our Slovak colleagues will support the trend of introducing auctions even before the end of 2021,” Director on Government and International Affairs Olha Bielkova said.
GTSOU said that the distribution of capacities at auctions is a transparent mechanism for the sale of services for the transportation of natural gas, in accordance with the Third EU Energy Package. From October 1, 2020, GTSOU, like all EU countries, distributes capacities to all points of interstate connection exclusively through auctions.
Gas supply company Naftogaz Ukrainy in April will keep the price of natural gas for household consumers (population) at the current level of UAH 6.86 per cubic meter, and the price of gas within the supplier of “last resort” for the next month will also remain at the March level of UAH 6.99 per cubic meter.
“We are going to offer our clients the same price in April as they had in March. And thus we end the heating season with a stable price,” he said on the air of Channel 5 on Wednesday evening.
At the same time, Kobolev did not say what fixed price the group is ready to offer under an annual contract, which will begin on May 1, 2021, to both the population and wholesale buyers.
“This price has not been determined yet. We have signed the first big contract [with Dmytro Firtash’s Ye Energiya LLC], which contains a pricing formula. The price will be known for sure on April 25 this year,” said the head of Naftogaz.
Kobolev also said that the group’s market share increased by 11 p.p. – up to 13% from August 2020 to the present day.
