Donnerstag 05 Oktober 2017
von 18:00 bis 20:00
Gas Sector Transformation in the Light of Geopolitical Uncertainty
The gas sector is perhaps one of the most challenging current reform projects in Ukraine. Several important changes were already implemented and improvements are visible. Previously the state monopolist Naftogaz had consumed subsidies of up to 5% of national GDP. Natural gas deliveries had been an instrument of political blackmailing from the side of the former monopolist supplier Russia. All this has been overcome. Nevertheless, a difficult reform path lies still ahead. Functioning gas markets require an unbundling of Naftogaz' monopoly - a particular challenging task in a country with a legacy of political interference against the backdrop of powerful vested interests.
At the same time, the reforms are supposed to happen in the context of a lasting geopolitical confrontation in which other governments misuse their big state gas enterprises as a tool for political power. Ukraine's future role for gas transit to Europe and ist revenues depend to a big extent on the competing infrastructure project of North Stream II and significant implications of it for Ukraine's attractiveness for investments into the often outdated domestic gas infrastructure can be assumed. On top of this, in the context of the overall modernisation of Ukraine towards a low carbon economy in line with the Paris climate accords the gas sector reforms need to be designed in a way conducive to a sustainable reduction of emissions from the energy sector in general taking into account the growth of renewables.
These are the main questions to be discussed: What are the main drivers and impediments for a quick implementation of further reforms and who are the main actors? How does the framework of Ukraine's membership in the European Energy Community help to design consistent reforms? Do the recent rulings of the Stockholm arbitration court on the Gazprom vs. Naftogaz case ease the further reform process? Will North Stream II lead Ukraine's gas sector into a lasting economic disaster? Which role should natural gas play in the future energy mix of Ukraine in the context of a transition to a low carbon economy?
With:
Andriy Kobolyev (CEO Naftogaz Ukraine) *
Olena Pavlenko (DiXi Group, Ukraine) *
Rebecca Harms (MEP, EFA/ Greens, Germany)
Georg Zachmann (Senior Energy Expert, German Advisory Group to Ukraine, Germany)
Moderation: Ursula Weidenfeld (Journalist, Germany)
*not yet confirmed
Information:
Petra Zimmermann
Projektkoordination Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung