Because of geo strategic location, transport, financial and energy potential of Eastern Europe, the geopolitical center of which is Ukraine, is indeed important from the point of providing of energy safety for this territory. As long as in the triangle “Russia – Ukraine – EU” a leading place belongs to the Ukrainian, intermediate link. Today, however, the point is not in the significance of our state and its developed infrastructure of gas and oil transportation pipelines for the provision of the jointing point between Europe and Asia with energy stability: now the issue of current importance is to maintain this status and as a result to develop our own foreign energy security.
Introduction of Power Strategy of Ukraine by 2030 (from March, 15, 2006) has to provide the transformation of Ukraine to the influential and active participant of international relations in the field of energy, in particular, through participating in international and intergovernmental formations and energy projects. Therefore the integration of the Ukrainian energy system to the energy circuits of the EU is a constituent of the strategic objective of Ukraine in relation to the subsequent membership in this organization.
According to the EU Commissar for Energy Günther Oettinger, annually the European Union consumes about 500 milliards cubic meters of gas from which 125 milliards cubic meters come from Russia. At the same time 80% Russian gas gets to Europe through the gas-transportation system (GTS) of Ukraine.
Ukraine is actively searching the ways of diversification of supplies of energy carriers to Europe, but unlike Russia, by means of own GTS, that is around Moscow. Ukraine considers Azerbaijan to be one of the greatest sources of energy carriers which can diversify resource deliveries to its own territory and fill in domestic transit energy network with “not Russian” oil and gas.
Accordingly, we have to rely on our own forces. Ukraine uses different energy saving technologies from year to year, reforming its energy sector. It foresees the reduction of consumption of the imported gas approximately on 5 milliards cubic meters annually. Today we consume almost 33 milliards cubic meters of the imported gas, next year “Gasprom” will supply 27 milliards cubic meters of the blue fuel. At the same time we increase the volumes of own gas production. Now the volumes of its production reach 21 milliard cubic meters annually.
Ukraine is in the first five of the European states-producers of nuclear energy, and national nuclear energy-generating company “EnergoAtom” occupies a significant place among the leading energy-generating companies of the world. Presently four nuclear stations operate on the territory of our country: Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Station, Rivne Nuclear Power Station, Khmelnnytsk Nuclear Power Station and South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Station. According to the data provided by “EnergjAtom”, as of December, 2011, 13 power units function in Ukraine, 2 more units – the 5th ZNPS and the 1stKhNPS - are under the planned repair.
Yuliya TSYRFA
Українська редакція
