The head of the state-owned Naftogaz oil and gas conglomerate, Andriy Kobolyev, has lauded the fourth consecutive year that Ukraine hasn't imported natural gas from its neighbor, Russia.
In a Facebook post on November 26, Kobolyev noted that Ukraine went from being "more than 90 percent" dependent on Russian gas in 2013 to having 65 companies importing the fuel from 18 European suppliers whose individual share never exceeded 30 percent.
"Not too long ago, American liquefied gas was supplied to Ukraine for the first time," Kobolyev wrote. "Market mechanisms have done what politicians could not do for decades -- depriving Ukraine's gas and political dependence on Russia."
He was referring to a shipment of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) that Poland sold to Ukraine this month.
On November 19, a ship carrying LNG for Ukraine arrived at the Swinoujscie terminal in Poland.
Poland's state-run PGNiG bought and sold 75,000 tons of LNG to Ukraine, which after converting it to gas will equal almost 100 million cubic meters.
Kobolyev added that domestic gas extraction satisfies roughly two-thirds of domestic demand.
He mentioned the need to further decrease outside dependency by boosting local production with private extractors while improving on energy-saving technologies and reducing demand for gas.
