In May, Ukraine will receive 350 thousand tons of fuel from completely new logistics routes. To this end, the Government has taken a set of urgent actions.
Thus, in March-April 2022, measures were implemented that increased the daily volume of fuel imports from the EU from 4 thousand tons to 12 thousand tons per day:
- revoked permits for entry of tank trucks for fuel delivery to Ukraine;
- provided the opportunity to receive fuel in the ports of the Danube;
- changes have been made to the mechanism of price regulation of fuel prices;
- extraordinary registration of fuel at the borders by the customs and border service is provided.
“Thanks to this, the railway began to import 5 times more fuel to Ukraine. In March, 35 thousand tons were delivered, in May we expect 180 thousand tons. Car deliveries increased 15 times - from 5 thousand to 85 thousand tons. River transport now transports 5 times more fuel than in March - from 4 to 22 thousand tons," said First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy Yulia Svyridenko.
There is also an agreement to start reversing fuel by pipe transport from Hungary. Ukraine has received confirmation of imports of 35 thousand tons per month, with a potential increase to 50 thousand tons. Meanwhile, customs launched a separate green lane for fuel trucks from Poland, potentially increasing the throughput from 110 to 200 units per day.
Today, all imports can be directed to domestic consumption. Increasing inventory takes more time, and fuel stocks at gas stations need at least 15 days to eliminate queues and shortages.
There is a clear plan of action for the coming weeks and coming months:
- to obtain the consent of the EU countries for the guaranteed acceptance of fuel tankers for the Ukrainian market by their ports;
- to confiscate Russian and Belarusian fuel that was imported before the Russian invasion and is now under arrest;
- load diesel pipeline from Hungary;
- to make systematic purchases by the national operator NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine to have rhythmic deliveries and long-term contracts.
According to the updated forecast, 300,000 tons of diesel and 120,000 tons of gasoline are expected to be consumed in May. Ukrainian networks have already contracted this volume of imports.
“At the same time, some unscrupulous market operators set prices higher than the maximum allowable - 60, 65 and even 70 hryvnias per liter. There is a war in the country, and we regard such price speculation as looting. The government has empowered regional military administrations to monitor pricing. We will react harshly to such facts in accordance with the requirements of wartime," Yulia Svyridenko stressed.
It will be recalled that the main cause of the fuel crisis is the actions of the aggressor state. The enemy destroyed the largest Kremenchug refinery and other domestic processing facilities, which provided 18% of our consumption before the war.
Four modes of transport imported another 82% of Ukraine's oil products: road, rail, sea, and pipeline. Today, all these import channels are reoriented and work completely differently.
