Photo from UNIAN
The Cabinet has set as its goal to achieve the country's complete energy independence with regard to all types of fuel, but this takes time.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman says Ukraine is interested in further projects for importing liquefied gas and coal until the country is able to cover shortages with own resources.
"Ukraine is very interested in liquefied gas. We've discussed the full range of our cooperation in the energy sector. As for coal, we will buy it from our international partners until we cover the domestic deficit," the government press service quoted Groysman as saying in an interview with Reuters on November 16.
According to the prime minister, the Cabinet of Ministers has set as its goal to achieve the country's complete energy independence with regard to all types of fuel. However, this takes time, he says.
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As UNIAN reported earlier, the state-owned and private extracting companies in Ukraine increased gas output by 3.1% in 2017 from 2016, to 20.8 billion cubic meters (bcm). The country reduced gas consumption in 2017 by 4%, to 31.9 bcm, according to the state-run gas transport system operator Ukrtransgaz.
According to the government's program for increasing gas production and reducing its consumption, it is planned that Ukrgazvydobuvannya's gas output will be equal to the consumption of natural gas by households and district-level central heating providers, that is 20 bcm of gas.
Ukraine in late November 2015 refused to purchase natural gas from Russia's Gazprom. In 2017, Ukraine imported 13.7 bcm of gas from Europe alone.
Ukraine in January-October 2018 reduced natural gas imports by 22.4%, or 2.63 bcm year-over-year, to 9.14 bcm of gas.