The long term Louisiana deal probably would have violated the competitive gas market that started Aug. 1 in Ukraine.

The long term Louisiana deal probably would have violated the competitive gas market that started Aug. 1 in Ukraine. “Due to the recent gas sector shake-up, Ukrainian gas consumers can now freely switch gas suppliers — they can benefit from pricing that is market-based and not set arbitrarily by the government,” Oleksandr Kharchenko, Managing Director at the Energy Industry Research Center, wrote in an Atlantic Council essay: “Ukraine quietly launches a gas market revolution.” Estimating an annual $2 billion savings to Ukraine’s budget, he writes: “All Ukrainian households have gained access to a genuine gas market, while intermediaries will no longer be able to accumulate illicit gains by simply taking gas from Naftogaz without full, or in some cases without any, payment.”