Ukraine can end gas imports within five years – Naftogaz head

Ukraine will be able to fully supply itself with gas and abandon gas imports within five years, Chairman of the Naftogaz Executive Board Yuriy Vitrenko has said.

"We can achieve this goal within five years thanks to three major factors. We have huge potential, and we are inspired by the example," he said.

Vitrenko said that increasing biogas production is also an extremely important area of development for Ukraine.

"Coming back to the bigger picture, in order to be self-sufficient, in addition to increasing natural gas production, we need to substantially increase production of biogas. It is sustainable and environmentally friendly. Ukraine has huge potential for biogas production as the largest country in Europe by land area. Land here is much cheaper than in Western Europe. We have huge potential for solar farms or wind farms and for biomass production. We have a very developed agricultural sector, which is also important for biogas production," he said.

The Naftogaz head also highlighted that improvements in energy efficiency would help Ukraine achieve energy independence.

"Ukraine is two times less energy efficient that the average East European country. Maybe some would say this is good for the energy industry because Ukrainians consume a lot of natural gas. However, in order to achieve energy independence, Ukraine must reduce inefficient energy costs. The cheapest and the most reliable energy is the energy that you don't waste," he said.

Source: www.en.interfax.com.ua