Energy

The House of Representatives of the US Congress has agreed to provide the amendments to the annual draft defensive budget that provide sanctions against Nord Stream 2 and all persons and companies involved in the activity and construction of the Nord Stream 2. The  Naftogaz CEO Yuriy Vitrenko announced on Facebook. Citing the fact that the decision was not made early. After Biden’s inauguration in January 2021, the new incoming administration decided to use its right to make an exception

 Fitch Ratings.  Record-high natural gas prices are putting pressure on supply chains of many European corporate sectors, including non-integrated energy suppliers, fertilizer producers and consumer goods companies.  According to Fitch Ratings smaller companies in these industries are under the most pressure, while larger and more diversified issuers rated by Fitch are better positioned to mitigate the impact. Gas prices could remain high until the end of the winter heating season, given low levels of natural gas in European storage facilities.

“With the help of this equipment, the company will be able to gain a foothold in a new segment. Interpipe supplies the bulk of pipes for mechanical engineering to Europe, the Middle East, and the CIS”, said company representative, Denys Morozov.

 The project will bring EUR 76 mln of investment and creating 360 jobs to the region. CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang in Kyiv advised CWP Europe (CWP) on the acquisition of 73MW wind project.  An acquisition represents an important step for CWP and its ambitious plans in Ukraine. A market where renewables only account for a 4% share of overall energy generation in 2015 and is now projected to reach up to 25% over the next decade.

PrJSC Mariupol-based Illich Iron and Steel Works (Donetsk region) will pay UAH 11.004 bln for the payment of dividends from retained earnings, Azovstal – UAH 7.718 billion, PrJSC Dniprovsky Coke and Chemical Plant (Kamianske, Dnipropetrovsk region– UAH 1.774 bln, PrJSC Avdiyivka Coke and Chemical Plant UAH 2.365 bln , and PrJSC Zaporizhkoks – UAH 3.867 bln.

 during the January-August 2021 period (ukrainianjournal). Overall Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises in this period increased revenue from exports of ferrous metals by 73.1% compared to the same period last year, to $8.918 billion from $5.150 billion.

(by 130,702 tons) compared to the same period in 2020 (770,824 tons). According to the State Customs Service, in this eight-month period, raw materials worth $354.808 million were imported, which is 20.8% more than in January-August 2020 ($293.75 million), including from Azerbaijan – for $287.823 million, Libya – for $37.032 million, and Algeria – for $29.421 million.

On September 16 DTEK agreed with the U.S. company HC Trading (Heidelberg Cement Group) on the supply to Ukraine of two shiploads of American thermal coal with a total volume of 150,000 tons, the company announced in a press release. It’s expected that coal will be delivered in two shiploads ­– the first in December 2021, the second in January next year.

The Verkhovna Rada may in early October support a bill that would define the term “biomethane” and introduce guarantees about its origin. This was announced by the adviser to the chairman of the board of “Naftogaz” Alexei Ryabchin during a round table, Ukrinform reports.

 (gov.ua). Plans to create a hydrogen market in Ukraine and were discussed during a German-Ukrainian meeting of the Working Group on Hydrogen, as well as a discussion on “Ukraine: Prospects for Green Hydrogen Exports to Germany and the EU.” The State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy of Germany, Andreas Feicht, stressed that Germany plans to look for reliable international partners and called on Ukraine to take advantage of its competitive advantages: the great potential of “green”

which will allow traders to ship Russian gas to markets in the European Union said CEO Naftogaz Yuriy Vitrenko. Speaking at a meeting with Andreas Feicht, ahead of Germany’s process to certify the Russian pipeline Nord Stream 2 AG. “All companies should receive non-discriminatory access, like Gazprom, to all gas pipelines that connect Russia and the European Union. So that European companies can decide for themselves which pipeline they will transport gas through. We explained how it works and why

The company has begun to use new technology for Ukraine’s basin analysis and modeling of hydrocarbon systems for prospecting and exploration of hydrocarbons.  The company’s communications department said:“ New technology will allow reducing risks, primarily in drilling, to improve the accuracy of risk assessment both for individual promising objects and for large geological structures in order to increase the resource base and production of Naftogaz,”

Gas prices in Europe are breaking new records every day. Since Monday, the gas prices increased from $750 to $950 per thousand cubic meters according to ICE.

Investments were concentrated in the financial sector, insurance, wholesale and retail trade reported ukrinform. In addition to direct investment, the trade turnover between our countries reached € 1.2 bln. According to Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania to Ukraine, Valdemaras Sarapinas, Lithuanian companies are active in Ukraine in the sectors of construction and agriculture, and the export of Ukrainian grain, oil, metal, and coal. To grow their presence in this market Lithuanian businesses are looking to the sectors of energy

After receiving all the necessary documentation, Nord Stream 2has lodged an application for an operating license from the pipeline company. The Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) (BNA) has commenced the process of certification of the Nord Stream 2 with said it has up to four months from Sept. 8 to produce a draft decision on the application.

to 344.1 million kWh, whereas imports rose 21.9 times, to 27.1 million kWh (Ukrenergo). Compared to July 2021, electricity exports from the Burshtyn TPP Energy Island decreased by 21.2% to 193.8 million kWh in August 2021. The decrease was recorded in all directions: Hungary – by 13.4%, Slovakia – by 66%, and Romania – by 22%.

” said Yuriy Vitrenko. “We are now approaching about 19 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas in our storage facilities, maybe even more. We have already exceeded the plan set by the government, which said it should be 17 bcm before the heating season” the head of Naftogaz said in an interview during the YES Brainstorming forum. According to Vitrenko, in 2016-18, Ukraine started the heating season with approximately 16 bcm in underground storage.

 Despite the fact that Russia has announced the completion of the construction of Nord Stream-2, it can still be stopped by sanctions. This was the admission of Oksana Markarova, the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States in an interview with European Truth. “We believe that Nord Stream-2 is a weapon. Our point of view has not changed. Even if it is 100% completed, there are still other issues – certification issues, “she said.

During the Forum “Europe: Reconstruction” within the framework of a working visit to the Republic of Poland last week, Shmyhal and Janša discussed the deepening of bilateral relations and Ukraine’s European integration. The Prime Minister noted that one of the important stages of Ukraine’s European integration is the synchronization of the Ukrainian energy system with the European ENTSO-E network. “We have completed all technical issues and plan to operate in a detached regime this winter. Our goal is to disconnect

The synchronization of Ukraine’s integrated energy system with the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E), scheduled for 2023, will enable the European energy system to become more flexible and raise its sustainability, the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy says. “Disconnection from the Russian power system and synchronization with the European one will benefit not only Ukraine. It will diversify energy supply routes, raise EU energy sector’s flexibility and sustainability, and create favorable conditions for the further development of

 Amos Hochstein, Senior Advisor for Energy Security to the US Secretary of State, will be discussing the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline with Ukrainian officials later this week. “His work is aimed at ensuring energy security in Europe and resolving issues related to the implementation of the agreement reached between the US President and the German Chancellor,” announced the Advisor to the Ukrainian Energy Minister Lana Zerkal. Germany has yet to certify the pipeline operator, a subsidiary of Gazprom –

The Strategy of Economic Development of Donetsk and Luhansk regions envisages the transformation of these coal regions by 2030 and the mitigation of social consequences. According to Marta Bukhtiyarova, Director General of the Directorate of Strategic Planning and European Integration of the Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied, it has planned to modernize profitable mines and privatize or close the other ones. Meanwhile, pilot projects will be implemented with the support of international partners in other coal regions, namely,

The Cabinet of Ministers has now included Turboatom, 75.22% of which is state-owned, in the list of companies for privatization. The state-owned Electrotyazhmash Plant will be included in the current privatization campaign.  Both companies are based in Kharkiv.  Turboatom, which the government has excluded from privatization in January 2019 is to be renamed “Ukrainian Power Machines”. It’s the only Ukrainian manufacturer of turbine equipment for hydro, thermal, and nuclear power plants. Electrotyazhmash specializes in the production of powerful hydro generators,

The Auction Commission for the privatization of the First Kyiv Machine-Building Plant (formerly Bilshovyk), has proposed a starting price of UAH 1.398 billion, the Head of the State Property Fund (SPF) Dmytro Sennychenko has revealed. He acknowledged that “The privatization of the Bilshovyk plant is a chance for a second life for this enterprise, which is more than UAH 500 million in debt.” Investments of more than UAH 57 million will be needed for repair and modernization.

18 domestic and international companies have expressed interest in buying the United Mining and Chemical Company (UMCC) – the largest titanium ore producer in Europe and the country’s most attractive asset so far – the State Property Fund has reported. The starting price has been set at $125 million.  Last month the sale had to be postponed because potential buyers complained they had not been given sufficient time to prepare the necessary documents. Foreign interest has come from companies in

the Ukrainian Energy Exchange (UEEX) reports. Imports from the European direction came mainly from Hungary. The volume of domestic production came to an average of 54.46 million cubic meters of natural gas per day. As of September 2, 2021, Ukraine had 18.22 billion cubic meters of natural gas in its underground gas storage facilities Ukrtransgaz expects that more than 19 billion cubic meters of natural gas will be pumped into Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities before the heating season starts.

 through Ukraine. According to Yuriy Vitrenko, “The best guarantee contracts with European companies.” He said that that negotiations on this issue organized by Germany will be held soon. He explained that Ukraine is not against the extension of the current contract with Russia for the transit of gas through Ukraine for another ten years, but this would not be the best guarantee for it.

Metinvest has published its 1H21 financial results, reporting net sales of $8.5bn (+54% h-o-h, +70% y-o-y), with metallurgical segment revenues up 50% h-o-h and 65% y-o-y to $6.4bn and mining segment revenues up 72% h-o-h and 90% y-o-y to $2.0bn.

About 4 billion cubic meters are currently stored in underground gas storage facilities in the “customs warehouse” mode. Ukrtransgaz expects that more than 19 billion cubic meters of natural gas will be pumped into Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities before the heating season starts.

The second meeting of the joint Ukrainian-Qatari intergovernmental commission on economic, trade, and technical cooperation has taken place. A protocol was signed envisaging bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, including in the field of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and the gas industry.

The energy ministers of Ukraine and the US agreed on August 31 to initiate such a process. At their meeting, in which President Zelensky participated,  Ukraine’s energy security concerns were addressed, as well as ways of intensifying cooperation in the energy sector, combating climate change and “green” transformation. He stressed the importance of creating effective safeguards against Russia’s use of gas as a weapon and the importance of launching regular trilateral consultations in the Ukraine-Germany-US format on the preservation of

. Responding to a note verbale from the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs received on July 22, in which Kyiv requested consultations referring to Articles 274 and 338 of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, its representative affirmed:  “The EU continues to attach great importance to Ukraine’s energy security. We remain fully available to discuss any issues of concern for Ukraine.”

linking Ukraine with the EU. In a new decree, President Zelensky emphasizes that the government intends to adopt the country’s hydrogen strategy by the end of 2021. According to the State Agency for Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving, Ukraine has the potential to produce up to 5.5 billion cubic meters of green hydrogen per year. To move forward,  the gas transportation system for exporting and storing hydrogen will need to be upgraded.

One of the first fruits of President Zelenskiy’s visit to the US is a memorandum signed by Ukraine’s National Nuclear Energy Generating Company Energoatom and Westinghouse on the construction of a power unit of the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant.  It is a pilot project and four more power units are envisaged with a total cost of up to $30 billion.

The lawmakers, leaders, civil society activists, and experts express their disappointment in a joint statement that hopes that had been raised “have been dashed by your administration’s decision to oppose sanctions against and so to greenlight Nord Stream 2, allowing the Kremlin to bring it to completion.” They appeal to him as a consistent “friend of Ukraine’s young democracy and because of your longtime record of commitment to Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty” to “change course and send a clear

Hungary will annually receive from Russia 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas: 3.5 billion via Serbia through the Turkish Stream gas pipeline and its overland extension, and 1 billion cubic meters via Austria. The new contract is for 15 years with the possibility of terms renewal in 10 years. Most of the volume will through a new interconnector on the country’s border with Serbia. Until now, most of Hungary’s gas import have been from Russia, supplied through Ukraine.

 The National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) has instructed the Cabinet of Ministers to prepare the procedure for a gradual transition to economically reasonable prices for electricity for household consumers by December 31, 2021. It follows from the NSDC decision of July 30, 2021 “On measures to neutralize threats in the energy sector,” which was enacted by presidential decree No. 452/2021 of August 28.

to pay off debts, particularly to the renewable energy sector Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko has told Interfax-Ukraine. It would need parliamentary approval.  The introduction of a 3.2% excise tax for electricity from renewable energy sources which is opposed by profile and business associations. The idea of “green” auctions is still being developed but he doubted they could be held in 2021.

The President has enacted the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of July 30, 2021 “On measures to neutralize threats in the energy sector.” The NSDC secretary Oleksiy Danilov explained at the time that almost 17,000 gas distribution networks had become privately owned in a non-transparent manner and there a company owned by businessman Dmytro Firtash had established a monopoly, controlling 70% of regional gas supply companies. Investigations into violations of the legislation governing the functioning of

With regards to the issue of energy, the Cabinet of Ministers, together with the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPF), will remove state-owned stakes of shares in operators of electricity distribution systems (regional power supply companies) from the list of large privatization objects and the list of small privatization objects and instead transfer them to the management of the Ministry of Energy. This follows the decision of the NSDC made on July 30 which was put into effect by presidential

Reuters reports. The starting price has been set at 3.7 billion hryvnias – $136 million. Ukraine aims to raise about 12 billion hryvnias by selling state assets in 2021 to partially finance the state budget deficit, which was approved at 5.5% of gross domestic product.

The Polish state-owned oil and gas company has signed an agreement with the Ukrainian-American Energy Resources of Ukraine (ERU) on joint exploration of gas in Ukraine. The Polish company is purchasing  a controlling stake( 85%) in Karpatgazvydobuvannia, the sole holder of a license to extract gas at Biblivska Oil and Gas Square in western Ukraine, in the area adjacent to the border with Poland. Drilling will begin in the second half of 2022 with further testing planned. If positive results

The high-level international investment conference will take place on September 28-30 in a hybrid format: offline in Bucharest, and online. Organized by a UK-based consultancy Invest in Network in partnership with Romanian Energy Center (CRE), the largest renewables conference in the region for the second year will bring together government authorities, local companies from Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Georgia, and Turkey, as well as IFIs, DFIs, and foreign private investors to discuss RES policies for the energy transition, financing renewable energy,

The CEO of Naftogaz Yuriy Vitrenko has held meetings on this issue with Germany’s newly appointed Special for the transit of gas through Ukraine, Georg Graf von Waldersee. In Vitrenko’s view, mechanisms are needed to guarantee the preservation of gas transit, such as the “creation on the Gazprom Export electronic platform of a point for the supply of additional gas volumes at the Russia-Ukraine border, as well as unblocking access to the Ukrainian gas transportation system from the Russian Federation

In the coming months, they have agreed to supply 75,000 tonnes of thermal coal from the US States through the international trader Trafigura. It will be divided equally upon arrival. According to DTEK: “It became possible to ensure coal imports due to normalization of the situation in the electricity market, which made it possible to achieve economically reasonable prices, and thus find the necessary resources to prepare for the autumn-winter period.”  DTEK also announced the start of coal imports from

The head of the Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine, MP Mykhailo Volynets notes that coal from the US will cost UAH 3,150 (about $120) per tonne,  while Ukrainian mines sell coal at UAH 1,650 per tonne.  “State mines are reducing coal mining, and the country is covering its deficit through imports at UAH 3,150 per tonne,” he said.

” the Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told the Government on August 26. “For the first time in many months, the agricultural sector grew by 2.5%. There’s an active upturn is in important industries. Metallurgy has grown by 7% this year, mechanical engineering – by 10%,” he noted.

Vsevolod Chentsov will be the new representative to the EU and the European Atomic Energy Community.  Since June 2017, he has been the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Netherlands and the Permanent Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in combination.

More details have emerged from Naftogaz CEO Yuriy Vitrenko on his view of the situation following the visit to Kyiv on August 22 of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Ukraine and on the eve of President Zelenskiy’s departure to Washington. They help clarify Ukraine’s position on the matter.

“The primary danger Nord Stream 2 poses is the threat to stop gas transit via Ukraine, which would mean a much higher risk of full-scale military invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. We therefore view the transit issue and the preservation of physical transit volumes through Ukraine as directly tied to the security issue,” he has stressed.