REUTERS
Ukraine reduced imports of natural gas in January 2016 by more than half year-over-year from 1.992 billion cubic meters (bcm) to 0.915 bcm, according to PJSC Ukrtransgaz, the operator of Ukraine's gas transportation system.
The company reports that in January Ukraine imported 0.834 bcm of gas from Slovakia, 0.043 bcm from Hungary and 0.038 bcm from Poland. Ukraine did not import any gas from Russia in January this year, according to the report.
At the same time, according to Ukrtransgaz, gas consumption in Ukraine in January 2016 amounted to 5.251 bcm, which was lower by 0.286 bcm, or 5%, than the previous year.
As UNIAN reported earlier, according to Ukrainian Minister of Energy and Coal Industry Volodymyr Demchyshyn, the price of natural gas imports from the European Union has decreased to $190 per 1,000 cubic meters, which is lower than the price offered by Russian energy giant Gazprom.
NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine has contracted 1.7 bcm of European gas for December 2015-March 2016, having agreed to buy it from five European companies using a $300 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Following tenders, the price of the contracted gas ranges from $188 to $211 per 1,000 cubic meters.