For the first time in recent history, the ruling regime in Ukraine has allowed the sale abroad of gas produced on its own territory, which, as stated in previous years, should be spent on the needs of the population at low prices.
People's Deputy of the Batkivshchyna faction Sergei Sobolev drew attention to this during a meeting in the Verkhovna Rada.
“For the first time in the history of Ukraine, the export of gas from its own production abroad is allowed. To achieve this, it was decided to halve the tariff for entering the export pipeline. Don’t you understand that the cost of gas that is produced in Ukraine and that is imported from abroad is a difference of tens of percent, to put it mildly?
Who is profiting from this, can you name the specific company and person who is behind the export of Ukrainian-produced gas abroad, in the conditions of a total increase in gas prices and tariffs?” – Sobolev asked Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Vladimir Kistion.
“Last week, for the first time, Ukrainian gas was exported abroad as an experiment. But I would like to remind you that today there is a law on the natural gas market, and the authority to determine the cost of entering the pipeline, the transport tariff and the cost of exiting the Ukrainian pipeline are the direct powers of an independent regulator, that is, NEURC (National Commission that carries out state regulation in the fields of energy and utilities - ed.)
Therefore, I think, your question will be framed as a deputy request and forwarded directly to the body to which the relevant powers relate,” Kistion “excused himself.”
As reported, Ukraine previously announced that it had refused Russian gas and was purchasing blue fuel using a “reverse scheme” - that is, Kyiv buys the same Russian gas at a premium from European intermediary companies. The profit, among other things, goes to officials close to the schemes.