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Ukraine seeks to partially replace gas with heating oil

23 September 2014 01:23 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Ukraine will increase the use of heating oil in the county's energy mix to replace natural gas, Deputy Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said here Monday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

"We have decided to increase usage of heating oil as an alternative fuel to partially cover gas deficit," Groysman told a media briefing after the meeting of the anti-crisis energy staff.

Ukraine is planning to replace around 3 billion cubic meters of gas during the upcoming winter heating season with heating oil purchased on the domestic market and abroad, Groysman said.

However, he has not unveiled details on how much the initiative will cost to the country's budget.

Groysman said the government is also seeking ways to switch some Ukrainian thermal power plants from gas to coal-fired power.

Ukraine, which used to be Europe's fourth largest coal producer, is now mulling importing coal because of the unrest in its eastern regions, the country's mining hub.

From January through July, Ukraine's coal production plunged 12 percent year-on-year to 21.4 million tons.

Ukraine's energy crisis peaked in June after Russia's energy giant Gazprom cut all gas supplies to Ukraine as the two sides failed to reach an agreement on payments.

According to the projection of the state-run company Naftogaz, during the upcoming heating season, which will last from October 2014 through April 2015, Ukraine's gas needs will stand at 26 billion cubic meters, of which 6 billion will be used for thermal energy generation.