Ukraine almost halves gas imports in 2016

Ukraine has almost halved its natural gas imports last year due to the reduced consumption and high domestic output, the state-run gas network operator Ukratransgaz announced Tuesday.

In 2016, Ukraine imported some 11.1 billion cubic meters of gas compared with 19.9 billion cubic meters in the previous year, Ukratransgaz said in a statement.

Last year, Ukraine purchased 9.1 billion cubic meters of gas from Slovakia, while the rest imports came from Hungary and Poland, it said.

In 2016, Ukraine has reduced its gas consumption by four percent to 30.3 billion cubic meters, of which 20.2 billion cubic meters were extracted domestically.

Gas supplies from Russia to Ukraine have been suspended since November 2015, as the two countries failed to reach an agreement on pricing. Endit