Not everything that Mikhail Saakashvili, the head of the executive committee of the Ukrainian National Council of Reforms, says publicly, lends itself to unambiguous interpretation. Some of the statements of the ex-president of Georgia sound like a random collection of words, devoid of any meaning. In an interview with the Polish portal Energetyka24, he touched upon the topic of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. It turns out that in the long term, the new route for gas delivery to Europe can be useful for Kiev. In the near future, it is capable of causing significant damage to Ukraine, but later Ukrainians will be able to benefit from it.

“Ukraine has enough of its own gas ... This (completion of construction. -

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) is good, because the Ukrainians will produce their own gas. Ukrainians will learn to save it, ”Saakashvili said. Kiev can not only become self-sufficient in terms of gas supply, but even start exporting it to other countries, he concluded.

These considerations of the politician are hardly relevant to reality. Indeed, Ukraine ranks second in Europe in terms of gas reserves. The first place belongs to Norway (1.7 trillion cubic meters). Ukrainian volumes are slightly lower (1.1 trillion cubic meters), but promising gas resources can reach 2 trillion. This data is from the BP Statistical Review of World Energy, published annually. However, this does not make the import substitution program proposed by Saakashvili feasible. The problem is that since independence, Ukrainian companies - private and state-owned (Naftogaz) - have been reducing gas production every year. The highest figure was in 1991 - 24.4 billion cubic meters. In 2020 - 20.2 billion cubic meters, which is 2% (or 415 million cubic meters) less than a year earlier.

Own fuel is unable to cover Ukraine's gas needs, which amount to 29.84 billion cubic meters. That is, one cannot do without imports, especially since, according to forecasters, the coming winter will be snowy and harsh. Since 2015, Kiev has refused to buy gas from Russia, and in 2020 it switched to gas extraction using a virtual reverse. Ukrainian consumers take about half of the gas that Gazprom sends in transit through the country. This saves on transportation costs, since there is no need to physically pump gas from Europe.

But this year it looks like things could end in disaster.

Prices in European markets are setting incredible records.

The cost of TTF (Title Transfer Facility Natural Gas Price Index) gas futures for October on the European Ice Futures exchange reached $ 79 per MW, or $ 964 per 1,000 cubic meters.

It is extremely doubtful that Ukraine can afford to buy fuel at such exorbitant prices.

As of August 1, Naftogaz of Ukraine, two and a half months before the start of the heating season, pumped 17 billion cubic meters of gas into underground storage facilities.

This is significantly less than the level of annual consumption.

General Director of the "Operator GTS of Ukraine" Sergei Makogon said that by the cold in the underground storage there will be 19 billion cubic meters, which, however, will only be enough for a standard winter. 

If the temperature indicators turn out to be higher than the average, then the country will be covered by a deficit.

In addition, a significant part of the population cannot buy gas even at the current tariffs.

Since 2014, the price of gas for Ukrainian residents has grown 14 times.

This was announced at the end of April by Viktor Medvedchuk, chairman of the political council of the Opposition Platform - For Life party.

And the former Minister of Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine, a deputy from the Batkivshchyna party Oleksiy Kucherenko, on the air of the 1 + 1 TV channel, predicted that the tariffs for the population of Ukraine in the near future could grow one and a half times.

In addition, the ex-minister believes that "the country may not have enough gas physically."

Ukrainians are preparing for the heating season, installing stoves in villages and stocking up on firewood.

So Saakashvili's fantasies about exporting Ukrainian gas outside the country are yet another dislocation (how many there have already been!) Of the consciousness of the fugitive Georgian politician.

However, this can be explained by the politician's addiction to substances that change consciousness.

On September 16, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said during a conversation with journalists that the defendant had not given up his bad habit: “We have seen many rulers who are drug addicts, such as Saakashvili.

He still actively uses drugs and his online performances prove that. " 

The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.