Ukraine Expands Sources of Reverse Gas Supply - Energy Minister

KYIV, Ukraine, August 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Ukraine continues to diversify the sources of gas import by expanding the routes of reverse supply of gas, said the Minister of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine, Eduard Stavytskyi. So far, Ukraine has been importing gas directly from Russia and through reverse supplies from the EU (through Poland and Hungary). Soon, he said, the Ukrainian government will open two more reverse gas supply routes through Romania and Slovakia.

Having analyzed all gas transportation routes, where switching to reverse mode was possible, Ukraine declared that it could diversify 100 percent of its gas import. The Eastern European country started purchasing gas in the EU in November 2012. On May 15, 2013, it started importing gas from Slovakia in a test mode. The total annual volume of gas that can be delivered through the reverse supplies from Europe to Ukraine can reach over 30 billion cubic meters, reported the energy ministry in July, 2013.

The top priority, however, is to increase the domestic production of gas, stressed Minister Stavytskyi. He recalled that 40 years ago, Ukraine produced more than 70 billion cubic meters of gas per year, which is triple what the country produces today.

He also mentioned that in over a century of intensive gas production in Ukraine the gas reserves from conventional sources had been largely exhausted. Therefore, "Ukraine's best prospects are to develop the unconventional gas resources such as shale gas and the Black Sea shelf," said Stavytskyi.

The Ukrainian energy minister cited the example of the U.S., which used modern technology and private investments to significantly increase its own gas production, reducing the price to USD 100 per thousand cubic meters. Stavytskyi stressed that the Ukrainian government had a similar goal of drastically increasing domestic gas production from unconventional sources and starting projects on further exploration of shale gas in Ukraine through multi-billion dollar investments in the industry.

Currently, Ukraine cooperates with such global leaders as Chevron, Shell, and Exxon Mobil, which will develop gas deposits in western and eastern regions of Ukraine, as well as in the deep marine shelf field under the Black Sea.