Ukraine plans to reduce imports of natural gas to 27.3 billion cubic meters in 2013 from 32.9 billion cu m in 2012, according to a forecast recently approved by the Ukrainian government and published on Friday.
Ukraine gas imports come primarily from Russia and Europe, with Russian imports declining rapidly because the two counties have failed to agree on lower prices.
Ukraine's national energy company Naftogaz Ukrayiny plans to import 18 Bcm of gas from Gazprom of Russia in 2013, down from 24.9 Bcm imported in 2012, while RWE of Germany is forecast to supply 1.3 Bcm in 2013.
Ostchem, a trader owned by Ukrainian billionaire Dmytro Firtash, is forecast to import 8 Bcm of gas in 2013, unchanged from 2012.
At the same time, Ukraine is expected to produce 22.05 Bcm of gas, up from 20.19 Bcm in 2012.
Ukraine's industrial consumers will receive 24.1 Bcm of gas in 2013, households will receive 16.5 Bcm, power and heat production plants will receive 6.3 Bcm and municipal consumers will receive about 930 million cu m of gas, according to the forecast.
A contract signed between Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukrayiny in January 2009 calls for Ukraine to import 52 Bcm of Russian gas annually through 2019.
Naftogaz reduced imports to 24.9 Bcm of Russian gas in 2012, down from 40 Bcm in 2011, prompting the Russian company to impose a $7 billion penalty on Ukraine last year. Ukraine refused to pay the penalty and argued the price of the Russian gas was too high to afford massive imports.
