DTEK Naftogaz LLC intends to increase natural gas production in 2019 by 10-12% (by 170-200 million cubic meters) compared to the expected production in 2018, to 1.8 billion cubic meters, manager on regulatory issues in the company Yulia Borzhemska has said during the XVI International Forum “Fuel and Energy Complex of Ukraine: Present and Future” in Kyiv.
According to the agency’s calculations, taking into account DTEK gas production in January-September 2018 in the amount of 1.242 billion cubic meters, the expected production in the current year will be 1.66 billion cubic meters.
“Next year, thanks to innovations, we will have a growth of 10-12%,” she said.
As reported, DTEK Naftogaz plans to achieve production of 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas until 2023.
DTEK Naftogaz is an operating company responsible for the oil and gas sector within DTEK energy holding. The assets portfolio of DTEK Naftogaz includes Naftogazvydobuvannia and Naftogazrozrobka, which carry out hydrocarbon exploration and production on three license areas in Poltava and Kharkiv regions.
Ukrainian enterprises in October 2018 imported gas at an average price of $323.44 (UAH 9,059.13) per 1,000 cubic meters, according to the website of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.
Thus, the price of gas imports in October was 6.3% higher than in September, when it was $304.36 (UAH 8,490.33) per 1,000 cubic meters.
The price in October 2018 is the highest since February 2015 when gas was imported to Ukraine at $328.60 per 1,000 cubic meters.
As reported, the price of gas imports per 1,000 cubic meters was $272.93 (UAH 7,784) in January 2018, $276.96 (UAH 7,430) in February 2018, $274.57 (UAH 7,154) in March 2018, $309.91 (UAH 8,100) in April 2018, $260.01 (UAH 6,806) in May 2018, $266.35 (UAH 6,960.18) in June, $288.82 (UAH 7,594) in July, $286.65 (UAH 7,910) in August, and $304.36 (UAH 8,490.33) in September, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade said.
Earlier, Chief Commercial Officer of Naftogaz Ukrainy Yuriy Vitrenko said the average customs value of imported gas published by the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade is not representative.
JSC Ukrtransgaz has created a new branch – Operator of Ukrainian Gas Storage Facilities, which will be responsible for the provision of gas storage services and operation of underground gas storage facilities.
The company said in a press release that the branch would consolidate all assets, processes and employees required for the provision of gas storage services. It is planned that the branch will start operating at a full capacity from January 1, 2019. The branch will function as a structural unit of Ukrtransgaz, without establishing a separate legal entity.
Ukrtransgaz is conducting preparatory work on the legal and organizational design of the operation of the branch, the redistribution of production and business processes, an inventory of existing assets and the transfer to the new branch of more than 1,700 specialists who support the operation of Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities.
“The creation of the operator is a consistent step towards the qualitative completion of the unbundling process, as a result of which the operator of Ukraine’s GTS [gas transmission system] will be finally separated from Ukrtransgaz after the current transit contract with Gazprom terminates,” Ukrtransgaz President Andriy Khomenko said.
Ukrtransgaz, a wholly owned subsidiary of Naftogaz Ukrainy, operates Ukraine’s gas transmission system and 12 underground gas storage facilities with 31 billion cubic meters of capacity.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was not as critical as Kyiv about the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and was in favor of Ukraine preserving its transit role after 2019. “We know that Ukraine is against this project. I am less critical about the project and I am in favor of Ukraine having guarantees, that Ukraine will preserve its transit role,” she said at a meeting with the Ukrainian parliament speaker, Andriy Parubiy, and the heads of parliamentary groups in Kyiv.
She noted that the negotiations on Nord Stream 2 are being conducted with both Russia and the European Commission. “The matter concerns creating a transit agreement. We want Ukraine to remain an important transit country,” Merkel emphasized. The chancellor noted that in addition to Nord Stream there is also TurkStream. “Thus, gas flows are expanding from Russia to the European Union, but this does not mean that we want to reject the transit role of Ukraine. I think that gas transit revenues are extremely important for the budget of Ukraine,” she said.
Merkel noted that Berlin “very seriously” considers the strategic opinion of Ukraine on the issue of Nord Stream 2. “We want to see Ukraine as a partner with respect to transit,” she said.
Prior to this, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Andriy Parubiy called on Merkel to study in more detail the arguments of Ukraine against the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
“The construction of Nord Stream 2 could bring imbalance and threaten the security of not only Ukraine but the entire European space. And this is the position of the Ukrainian parliament. I would ask that the arguments of the Ukrainian side be studied more in detail,” Parubiy said during a meeting with the German chancellor in Kyiv.
The speaker called for supporting the position of the Ukrainian parliament on the Nord Stream 2 issue.
Ukraine after the completion of the heating season increased its natural gas reserves in the underground gas storage facilities by 9.469 billion cubic meters (bcm), according to data from Ukrtransgaz. So, from April 8 to October 20, 2018 gas inventories rose by almost 2.3 times, from 7.435 bcm to 16.904 bcm.
According to the calculations of the Interfax-Ukraine agency, on October 1 through October 20 gas storage facilities were replenished by 669.29 million cubic meters (mcm, 33.46 mcm per day), in September by 1.595 bcm (53.17 mcm a day), in August by 1.793 bcm (57.85 mcm per day), in July by 1.655 bcm (53.38 mcm per day), in June by 1.623 bcm (54.09 mcm per day), in May by 1.632 bcm (52.65 mcm per day), April 9-30 by 500.84 mcm (22.77 mcm per day).
Ukraine came out from the 2017/2018 heating season with the minimum stocks in the last four seasons due to the frosty March-early April.
As reported, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine expects that gas inventories by November 1, 2018 will amount to 17 bcm.
Global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus Media has launched a Ukrainian natural gas price assessment to bring transparency to a rapidly evolving market.
The new assessment is an important step in the evolution of a freely traded Ukrainian gas market, which has developed since imports from Europe began at the end of 2015, replacing supplies from Russia. A growing number of international trading companies are active in the market, along with domestic gas producers, traders and consumers,” according to a report on the company’s website.
“Ukraine is a large market, and the country has ambitions to align with the EU’s rules on natural gas and electricity, which could make it a more attractive location to trade. Ukraine consumed 30.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2017, placing it in line with some of Europe’s biggest markets. And Ukraine operates a gas storage system that is larger than any in Europe, at a time when market flexibility is at a premium. Trading firms and gas companies inject supply into storage during the summer when demand is low. As temperatures fall in the winter, storage withdrawals are made to meet heating requirements,” it reads.
“Argus is dedicated to providing independent coverage of the Ukrainian gas and power markets. Our focus on Ukraine is because of its growing importance to the European energy system, rapid development and size. This assessment is the culmination of dedicated research and development on the part of our editorial teams in Kyiv and London,” Argus Chairman and Chief Executive Adrian Binks said.
Argus’ Kyiv office opened in 2008, producing motor fuel, LPG and other price assessments, news and analysis.
