Shale Gas Can Make Ukraine Self-Sufficient

Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said that Ukraine intends to sign the memorandum with the U.S. government to assist in the development of shale gas.

Ukraine will submit information about its shale gas fields to the U.S. energy ministry for an expert appraisal of prospects for development of the gas deposits.

It is hoped that the involvement of the U.S. government may influence big U.S. companies to carry out development in Ukraine, the newspaper reported.

Mikhail Korchemkin, the head of East European Gas Analysis, believes Ukraine has the potential to extract 20 billion cubic meters of shale gas a year over ten years.

Chevron Corp., ExxonMobil, TNP-BK and Shell have all expressed interest in Ukraine's shale gas reserves. (Read more HERE)

In terms of natural gas extraction and imports via a liquefied gas terminal, Ukraine can provide for its energy needs without Russian gas, according to the newspaper, citing an unidentified official from the Ukrainian Energy and Coal Ministry.

Read the full article from the Kommersant (in Ukrainian) HERE