Energy

Tuesday, September 7

Ukraine’s gas imports amounted to 22.3 mcm per day as of September 1st, 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 natura...

Monday, September 6

Naftogaz CEO on the best guarantees for prolonging gas transit 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 expl...

Metinvest sees record semiannual profitability. 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 ...

Friday, September 3

Ukrtransgaz pumps over 18 bcm of gas into underground storage facilities. 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 ...

Ukraine – Qatar to develop cooperation in the energy sector. 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 t...

Thursday, September 2

Bilateral “strategic dialogue” launched on energy and climate. 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...

European Commission ready to discuss the format of consultations on Nord Stream 2 . 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...

Government to seek investment for a hydrogen pipeline project 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...

Wednesday, September 1

Energoatom and Westinghouse have signed a cooperation agreement. 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...

50 Ukrainian political and civil society figures appeal to Biden to block Nord Stream2. 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 op...

Russia-Hungary agree on a gas supply deal bypassing Ukraine effective from October 1. 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 Aus...

NSDC orders government to plan for transition to market prices for electricity for households. 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 househo...

The Energy Ministry is considering transferring excise tax on electricity, including ‘green,’ to a trust fund 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 ...

Tuesday, August 31

Zelensky enacts NSDC decision on measures to reduce corruption in the energy sector. 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 D...

Government drops idea of privatizing regional power suppliers. 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...

Second attempt to sell UMMC (United Mining and Chemical Company) scheduled for Oct. 29, 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 ...

Poland’s PGNiG invests in gas exploration in Ukraine. 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 purchasin...

Preparations are underway for Energy Week Black Sea. 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 par...

Monday, August 30

Naftogaz asks Berlin to support transfer of gas transmission points to Russia-Ukraine border. 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, mechanis...

DTEK Energy, Centrenergo agree to import coal from US. 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...

Miner’s trade union leader criticizes importing expensive coal from abroad. 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 ...

Friday, August 27

The economy is recovering from the “coronavirus downfall, ” 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...

President Zelenskiy appoints new representative to EU. 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 an...

Naftogaz CEO elaborates on Nord Stream 2 and related issues. 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 Preside...

Vitrenko is convinced preserving gas transit via Ukraine can deter aggression. “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 ther...

Naftogaz urges long-term capacity bookings of the Ukrainian gas transmission system by European firms this autumn. At the same time, Naftogaz is ready to prolong the current agreement with Gazprom after its expiry in 2024. Vitrenko has renewed assurances that the Ukrainian gas transm...

Vitrenko reiterates key principle: European companies under current contracts must be able to change gas transmission points and book capacity independently to receive gas at the Ukraine-Russia border. Gazprom, if it wants to supply an...

Naftogaz’s CEO emphasizes Ukraine’s openness to supporting the involvement of international partners in the gas transmission system operator. “We are ready to explore a consortium with European companies or American companies which would take on the role of operator. This is an idea that is attractive enough for Ukraine as well as pot...

Naftogaz CEO considers transit as a key source of funding for the transformation of the energy sector. “Ukraine receives quite a lot of revenue from gas transit. We have a contract until 2024 that provides Ukraine with guaranteed income of $7.2 billion. If transit is prolonged, for example, for a...

According to Vitrenko Green Transition will require $100 billion to fully replace conventional energy sources with renewable ones. Ukraine will need these funds and approximately 25 years. Naftogaz is now in negotiations about cooperation projects in this field wit...

Thursday, August 26

Opening of Nord Stream 2 blocked? The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is not exempt from EU rules requiring owners of pipelines to be different from the suppliers of the gas that flows in them to ensure fair competition, the Duesseldorf Hi...

Vitrenko says tough battle over Nord Stream 2 still ahead. According Naftogaz’s CEO, “It will be a hard battle. The Kremlin has been blackmailing Europe with gas shortages in the winter period. Some Western government officials don’t want to realize or ...

Naftogaz and RWE agree to cooperate in the green hydrogen sphere. They have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop beneficial cooperation along the full value chain of green hydrogen and its derivatives like ammonia produced in Ukraine. According to Naftoga...

Interfax-Ukraine news agency is launching a Green Deal special project and creating creation a corresponding section on the website. It will focus on the European Green Deal strategy, with which the EU intends to build a carbon-neutral economy by 2050, and the emerging G...

Wednesday, August 25

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel made a brief working visit to Kyiv on August 22. She had met with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, in Moscow on August 20. Considering the virtual completion of the controversial Russo-German Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, t...

Enduring differences between Kyiv and Berlin on the implications of the scheme were highlighted during their joint press conference. Zelenskiy continued to insist that Nord Stream 2 is a political weapon which Russia will use against Ukraine and Europe. Merkel denied this and in...

Merkel assured her host that Berlin has requested that the current Russo-Ukrainian agreement on the transit of Russian gas to be prolonged after its expiry in 2024. She was vague on how this could be accomplished, and announced that Germany will appoint a special envoy to deal with transits issues.

Zelenskiy told Merket that Ukraine’s transition to green energy is desirable but requires “too much money and time.” Ukraine wants to prepare for the future, but it has first to deal with pressing issues and potential threats, he explained.

Ukraine’s and Europe’s energy security were discussed on the sidelines of the Platform. After Washington designated its Secretary for Energy to head the US delegation to the Platform, Germany also sent its Minister for Energy, instead of its Minister for Foreign Affairs. They held a join...

US State Department has imposed more sanctions in connection with Nord Stream 2. On Aug. 20 it announced sanctions against 2 more Russian citizens and a Russian vessel involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. President Joe Biden has also signed an Executive ...

The Naftogaz CEO is confident Nord Stream 2 will not become operational for some time. Despite its technical readiness, the pipeline will not be able to operate commercially until certification procedures are met, Yuriy Vitrenko, Naftogaz of Ukraine’s CEO, believes. He is convinced that...

Metinvest offers to buy out shares from minority shareholders of Pokrovske Colliery. Along with its affiliates, Metinvest wants to buy out shares from minority shareholders in Ukraine’s largest coking coal producer, PrJSC Pokrovske Colliery (Donetsk region), under the squeeze-ou...

Thursday, August 19

Construction of Nord Stream 2 should be completed on Monday, the day before Ukraine’s Independence Day , reports Deutsche Welle. The €9.5 billion Russia—Germany natural gas pipeline is designed to render Ukraine’s Soviet-era east-west gas pipeline redundant. Coupled with Nord Stream 1, the two Baltic s...

Underlining the importance of Nord Stream 2 to the gas-starved Europe, a false report that gas has started moving through the new pipeline caused EU gas prices to fall by 10% for two hours yesterday afternoon. After Gascade, the German pipeline company, denied the rumor ...

With European gas prices at their highest in 20 years, Naftogaz is scrimping on purchases, gambling on starting the heating season in mid-October with one third less gas than the 28.4 billion cubic meters stockpiled last fall. Yuriy Vitrenko, Naftogaz CEO, said Tuesday the company plans to ...

The EBRD has signed with Ukraine’s Gas Transmission Operator an agreement to collaborate on developing green hydrogen production, storage, and distribution infrastructure across Ukraine , the development bank reports. “Ukraine relies heavily on fossil fuels across all sectors of its economy and hydrogen can represent a good alternative for decarbonization, and reduce reliance on foss...

Naftogaz has invested about $580 million in the production of concession oil and gas in Egypt over the last 15 years, Serhiy Pereloma, the company’s first deputy board chairman, writes on Facebook. In a joint venture with Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, Naftogaz has been exploring and producting in Egyp...

Tuesday, August 17

Guaranteeing high EU gas prices this fall, Russia’s Gazprom bought only 4% of additional pipeline capacity offered at auction by Ukraine yesterday , reports UBR.ua. The news pushed Rotterdam hub gas prices to a new peak: $585/1,000 cubic meters. Ukraine’s Transmission System Operator had offered to pump an additional 15 million cubic meters in S...

Ukraine’s has 17.6 billion cubic meters of gas in underground storage – enough for the winter, but 30% less than this time last year , Ukrtransgaz reported yesterday. Last Oct. 28, when the storage facilities switches to transmission mode, reserves totaled 28 billion cubic meters. With prices high, Ukraine has slowed purchases.

Seeking US backing to block Nord Stream 2, a major Ukrainian energy association has signed a 1-year, $1.2 million contract with US law firm Arent Fox for legal and lobbying help in Washington. The US Department of Justice reports that the Ukrainian Federation of Employers of the Oil and Gas Industry signed the contract last month. German Chancellor Angela Merkel meets with President Putin i...