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Ukraine to reduce gas consumption twice within three years

Since 2010 the housing and utilities sector has reduced gas consumption by 10 percent

KIEV, July 19 (Itar-Tass) - Ukraine will reduce gas consumption twice within the nearest three years, Vice-Prime Minister Alexander Vilkul said.

“The government set the task. This year will prove that gas consumption will decrease by 5 percent as compared with last year,” Vilkul said at a video conference on Friday.

Since 2010 the housing and utilities sector has reduced gas consumption by 10 percent. “We’ll reduce gas consumption in the future. The situation in the housing and utilities sector won’t worsen,” the vice-prime minister said.

He said within the three years Ukraine had to renovate about 8,000 kilometres of heating networks all round the country, replace 4,000 gas boilers and modernize 6,000 gas boilers.

Ukraine has to search for a possibility to reduce imported consumption due to the high price. In 2012 internal gas output decreased by 1.1 percent as compared with the year 2011 when it reached 19.3 billion cubic metres and its consumption dropped by 7.6 percent by amounting to 54.7 billion cubic metres.

Ukraine believes that the country’s dependence on imported natural gas can be replaced by its own gas. Ukraine is planning to increase gas output up to 30 billion cubic metres within 5-10 years.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov said the output at the level of 30 billion cubic metres of gas would cover the country’s needs. In the future Kiev will be able to export gas, the prime minister added.

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