Ukraine imports 24.6 bcm of Russian gas for $10.4 bln in 9M
KYIV. Nov 21 (Interfax) - Naftogaz Ukrainy and Dmitry Firtash's OstChem Holding imported 24.57 billion cubic meters of Russian gas for $10.4 billion in January-September.
The State Statistics Service said Ukraine imported 3.1 bcm of Russian gas for $1.33 billion in September.
The average price of the gas imported by Naftogaz and Ostchem was $429.2 per thousand cu m.
Naftogaz has said it paid around $1.056 billion for Russian gas in September, so Ostchem must have paid $275 million.
Ukraine imported only Russian gas in January-September, the Statistics Service said.
Ukraine imported 35.57 bcm of gas for $10.34 billion in January-September 2011 - 32.5 bcm of it Russian gas ($9.37 billion).
Ukrainian gas imports plummeted due to the purchase by national oil and gas company Naftogaz Ukrainy of large amounts of gas at the start of 2011 in fulfillment of a Stockholm arbitration court ruling on the return to Switzerland's RosUkrEnergo of 12.1 bcm. The reduction in Ukraine's Russian gas imports was connected with its intention to cut such purchases due to the high price.
Naftogaz Ukrainy imports Russian gas under a contract with Gazprom dated January 19, 2009. Ukraine, which is not happy with the agreement, has been trying without success to revise the pricing parameters of the contract. For this reason, Naftogaz Ukrainy intends to cut Russian gas purchases.
Ukraine is looking to diversify energy supplies and boost its own gas production. The baseline scenario in the country's updated Energy Strategy to 2030 states gas production will rise from 20 billion cubic meters to 44.4 bcm and that gas imports will fall to 5 bcm.
OstChem Holding started importing gas from Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in April 2011. However, State Statistics Service data indicate that the company has only been bringing Russian gas into Ukraine since the beginning of this year.
The State Statistics Service has said Ukrainian natural gas imports rose 22.4% in 2011 to 44.801 bcm and 49.5% to $14.046 billion. Imports of Russian gas came to 40.001 bcm ($12.361 billion) and Central Asian gas - 4.8 bcm ($1.684 bcm).
The 2012 gas balance states that Naftogaz will import 27 bcm and Ostchem - 8.124 bcm of gas this year. Energy and Coal Minister Yury Boiko said at the start of November that he thought Naftogaz might cut imports to 26 bcm in 2012.
