The dominant position of the Regional Gas Company (RGC) group of oligarch Dmytro Firtash in the gas market of Ukraine has come to an end, CEO of NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy Yuriy Vitrenko has said.
“Deoligarchization. This term was talked about a lot in the gas market, but here in Ukraine, the group of oligarch Firtash for almost two decades had dominated. Now, this is coming to an end,” Vitrenko said at a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday.
He said that since late, virtually all household consumers – 97.6% – receive gas directly from Naftogaz.
“There is no intermediary between us in the form of the Firtash group, which has never been a real supplier, but was an intermediary who did not bear the risks that real suppliers usually bear, in the European sense of the word,” Vitrenko said.
He also said that after the government’s decision to transfer regional gas suppliers from RGC to Naftogaz, they will soon be transferred to Naftogaz.
“[Naftogaz] will actually have more than 60% in this gas distribution or transportation market,” the head of Naftogaz said.
