"Ukraine has
to provide itself with domestic gas production within ten years by reducing the
consumption and increasing the domestic production," Prime Minister of
Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk
stressed at a board meeting of the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry of
Ukraine, on Tuesday, July 7.
The PM called
energy efficiency and energy independence of the state one of the main
strategic directions for Ukraine: "In ten years, Ukraine has to provide
herself with her own gas."
For this purpose,
Arseniy Yatsenyuk has
underlined, it is necessary to change tax policy in the energy area:
"Those who received licenses illegally and possess now so-called joint
contracts will pay 70 percent of royalties. They have super-profits, they invest
nothing in production, so the state will levy the so-called gas oligarchs until
they switch to production-sharing agreements - transparent, understandable and
European. "
As for private
companies that are ready to increase gas production, the Prime Minister
proposed the following formula: "If they give us the guarantee to increase
production, then the state will move to a more progressive and efficient tax
system in the energy sector."
He informed that
during the Ukrainian-USA Business Forum, which will be held soon in Washington,
the Government will introduce a new tax incentive system in the energy sector.
Moreover, in
order to provide the country with its own gas, Arseniy
Yatsenyuk stressed, we need to develop energy efficiency
programs, as these programs is a separate issue in terms of Ukraine’s
international cooperation.