The European side has proposed a new framework of work with the goal of signing a long-term contract for the supply of Russian gas through Ukraine after 2020, and the Ukrainian side hopes it will be signed before the end of this year, Minister of Energy and Environment Protection of Ukraine Oleksiy Orzhel has said.
“Today we’ve discussed with our European partners and accepted new proposals regarding the framework for working with a gas transit contract. We fully support these proposals and are grateful to our European partners for them,” Orzhel said following the fourth round of talks in the trilateral Ukraine-Russia-European Commission format in Brussels.
According to him, these proposals “are based on a ten-year contract, as well as on volumes of 60 billion cubic meters of stable volumes and 30 billion cubic meters of variable volumes of gas transportation by the gas transportation system.”
“There are additional points that we sign a transport agreement in accordance with European law,” the minister stressed.
At the same time, he assured that Ukraine has a clear position in order to guarantee stable supplies in the European direction.
“We hope that we will sign the agreement (on transit) before the end of the year and ensure the reliability of supplies to the European market,” he added.
Ukraine, the European Commission and the Russian Federation held technical consultations in Brussels on Tuesday to prepare for the next round of trilateral talks on gas transit after January 1, 2020.
NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy said in a press release that during the consultations the parties discussed Ukraine’s progress in the implementation of the norms of the European legislation and the creation of independent gas transmission system operator.
In addition, the signing of an interconnection agreement between the operators of the gas transmission systems of Ukraine and the Russian Federation on standard European conditions was discussed, as well as the methodology of tariff formation for gas transportation, and other issues.
The next round of trilateral gas transit negotiations is expected to take place on October 28.
Ukraine boosted its natural gas stocks in underground gas storage facilities (UGS) by 23.28 billion cubic meters (bcm), to 21.026 bcm from April 4 to October 13, 2019, according to JSC Ukrtransgaz.
Interfax-Ukraine’s estimates show that this volume exceeds the inventory indicator as of October 13, 2018 by 26.4%, that as of October 13, 2017 by 25.5% and of October 13, 2016 by 42.7%.
Some 594.48 million cubic meters (mcm) was pumped into the country’s storage facilities on October 1 through October 13, which was 45.7 million cubic meters (mcm) per day on the average. The average daily amount in September was 72.5 mcm, it was 77.5 mcm in August, 74.4 mcm in July, 71.9 mcm in June, and 62.9 mcm in May.
Some 44.5 mcm of natural gas was pumped into the country’s UGS facilities on October 13, 2019, alone, while gas import totaled 60.4 mcm and domestic production was 54.9 mcm.
Earlier, Chairman of Executive Board of Naftogaz Ukrainy Andriy Kobolev said that the company planned to pump additional volumes of natural gas into the Ukrainian underground storage facilities in the event that Russia’s Gazprom ceases gas transit through the country in 2020.
As was reported, during the heating season from November 6, 2018, to April 4, 2019, Ukraine’s gas stocks in the UGS facilities shrank by 8.45 bcm (from 17.195 bcm to 8.745 bcm).
Ukrtransgaz, fully owned by Naftogaz Ukrainy, operates a system of gas pipelines and 12 underground gas storages in the country. Their total capacity is 31 bcm.
The National Commission for Energy, Housing and Utilities Services Regulation (NCER) has set a feed-in tariff for the ETG Solar 5 LLC solar plant with a capacity of 11.1 MW (Zhovti Vody, Dnipropetrovsk region) at a rate of 15.03 euro cents per kWh.
According to the NCER’s website, the commission made such a decision at a meeting on October 3.
The validity of the tariff is until January 1, 2030.
The commission also provided tariff for Dniproukrenergo LLC station with a capacity of 6.2 MW (Nova Kakhovka, Kherson region). The company is owned by Logos Firm LLC and Mykyta Hostev, who is the director of Dniproukrenergo.
In addition, feed-in tariff was given to Sunny City LLC with a capacity of 8.3 MW (Ivano-Frankivsk region). The company is owned by Sansolar LLC, Andromeda Industry LLC and Yevhen Yaremenko. The ultimate beneficiary is Andriy Havryliv.
The NCER also set the tariff for the second stage of Ternovytsia Solar LLC with a capacity of 15.5 MW (Ternovytsia, Lviv region). The company is owned by Vydobutok Plus LLC and Greenville closed non-diversified venture corporate investment fund. The ultimate beneficiary is Ivan Torsky.
ETG Solar 5 LLC is owned by Energy Trade Group LLC, the largest private gas supplier to Ukraine. The ultimate beneficiary is Oleksiy Bondarenko. The number of clients of Energy Trade Group at the beginning of 2019 exceeded 2,500 companies.
ETG, GAS, SOLAR PLANT, TARIFF, TRADER
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has invited Norwegian investors to produce gas in Ukraine.
Zelensky’s office said the president met with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and discussed with her the importance of maintaining a high level of cooperation between the two countries.
Zelensky “thanked Norway for its staunch support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” The sides agreed to work on “bringing Norwegian investors into infrastructure and humanitarian projects to restore Donbas,” his office said.
Norwegian business are expressing a significant interest in Ukraine in light of reports about improved transparency and anti-corruption initiatives, Solberg said.
“We are reforming our law enforcement bodies, we will have privatization, we will conduct reforms that help overcome corruption,” Zelensky said.
He noted the importance of support in the energy sphere.
“We would be pleased to invite you there to produce gas. We have gas fields but we do not have enough technology. This is not simply a business interest but as geopolitical issue,” he said.
The two also discussed alternative energy.
Zelensky briefed Solberg on the situation in Donbas. At the end of the meeting, Solberg presented Zelensky with a football, on which sustainable development targets were depicted.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukraine and Slovakia would do their best for ensuring stable supplies of gas to Europe.
“Ukraine and Slovakia are reliable gas transit countries, and we will make every effort to ensure uninterrupted gas supplies to the European market,” he said at a briefing in Kyiv on Monday after meeting with Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová.
