Oil transiting Ukraine to Europe down 18.1% in 2012
KYIV. Jan 25 (Interfax) - The volume of oil transiting Ukrainian territory bound for Western Europe was down 18.1%, or by 3.214 million tonnes, last year at 14.557 million tonnes.
The country's Energy and Coal Industry Ministry's data indicate that oil transit just in December was down 8.2% (or by 117,000 tonnes) year-on-year at 1.311 million tonnes.
The main reason for these decreases was a dearth of transport orders on the part of Belarus for using the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline from the Black Sea oil terminal Pivdenny (Odessa Region) and a reduction on the part of Russia of the amount of oil transiting through the Druzhba pipeline to Czech refineries due to the launch of the Baltic Pipeline System 2 in a strategy aimed at doing without the services of transit countries and the use of Russia's own port and pipeline capacity.
Ukraine imported 73% (4.012 million tonnes) less oil last year - 1.505 million tonnes in all. Ukrainian refineries in all received half as much oil - down 4.44 million tonnes to 4.013 million tonnes. These decreases were attributable to Lisichansk Oil Refinery being shut down for overhaul in March. That refinery is part of TNK-BP .
The consumption of oil products in Ukraine was down 3.1% (by 339,800 tonnes) last year at 10.526 million tonnes. Consumption of gasoline decreased 2.6% to 4.197 million tonnes, of fuel oil - 63.3% to 314,000 tonnes, while that of diesel fuel increased 5.5% to 6.015 million tonnes.
Ukraine pumped 11.6% less oil in 2011 than it did in 2010 - 27.536 million tonnes total. Oil transit to Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic decreased 11.8% to 17.771 million tonnes, while the amount of oil transported to the country's oil refineries was down 11.3% at 9.765 million tonnes.
Ukraine's refineries processed 49.5% less crude last year compared with 2011 - 4.570 million tonnes. Delivery of raw hydrocarbons (crude oil, gas condensate, vacuum gas oil) was to the Kremenchug refinery (3.079 million tonnes), the Lisichansk refinery (766,900 tonnes), The Drogobych refinery (365,900 tonnes), the Nadvirna refinery (32,600 tonnes), and the Shebelinsk refinery (663,400 tonnes).
Oil extraction in the republic last year was down 1.4% at 2.370 million tonnes, though gas condensate production was up 0.8% at 920,300 tonnes.
