Page 43 - UKRRptApr19

of 92bn cubic meters of gas and 16mn tons of oil.
Russia’s plan to bypass Ukraine to supply gas to southeast Europe is advancing. Russian pipe maker TMK plans to bid on a Bulgartransgaz tender to build a pipeline north from Turkey, Reuters reports from Moscow. Last November, work was completed on the 1,090 km TurkStream pipeline, which runs from Anapa, Russia, to Kıyıköy, a Black Sea town in Turkey’s European section. Now Russia’s Gazprom must choose from two possible routes for TurkStream: via Bulgaria, 50 km to the north, or through Greece, 150 km east. Next week, Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev flies to Sofia to sign energy documents.
Ukraine’s State Geological Service conducted three auctions for licenses to extract oil and natural gas at a total starting price of UAH44.9mn, reaching a total final sale price of UAH141.1mn ($5mn), according to media. One license was sold to a company related to DTEK for UAH85mn, the second was sold to state-controlled Ukrgazvydobuvannia, a subsidiary of state-owned monopoly Naftogaz, for UAH31mn, and the third license was purchased by a company controlled by Burisma Holding for UAH25.1mn. Alexander Paraschiy at Kyiv-based brokerage Concorde Capital believes that this was the first transparent tender for the sale of oil and gas licenses in Ukraine. "If such tenders become a regular occurrence, they will benefit the nation’s investment climate and energy independence, enabling private and state producers to better plan their expansion and investment in new license development," he wrote in a note on March 7. "State budget revenue also stands to benefit."
9.1.3 Transport sector news
● Planes
Lviv airport’s passenger traffic increased by 50% y/y in January and February , maintaining the strong 48% growth of last year. Of the 108,400 passengers in February, 89% flew international. On Sunday, Wizz Air started flights to Copenhagen. Confirmed new flights this season are: Motor Sich to Uzhgorod on March 15, airBaltic to Riga on April 1 and SkyUp to Odesa on June 2. This year, Lviv is expected to win a flight to Doha on Qatar Airways.
● Trains
Less than one year after Beskidy railway tunnel opened, the tunnel through the Carpathians is carrying 60% of Ukraine’s exports to the EU, President Poroshenko said on a visit to Lviv. Opened in May, the double track, Lviv-Zakarpattia tunnel can carry 100 trains a day. Hailing “the Lviv locomotive,” he said that Lviv’s exports to the EU jumped by 22% last year. Last year, 79% of Lviv’s exports went to the EU, almost double the national average of 43%
● Ships
The Mariupol seaport has lost 33% of its fleet and 140,000 tonnes in metal exports owing to the construction of the Russia-built Crimean Bridge and its height restrictions, according to Vadym Chernysh, Ukrainian Minister of Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons. Those ships with heights higher than 33 metres haven’t been able to pass
43 UKRAINE Country Report April 2019 www.intellinews.com