According to him, the decision of the government to set the market price for gas in Ukraine for all consumers is the significant step in this direction, UNIAN reports.      

Ukraine has all opportunities and resources for becoming the energy-independent state in the medium term, Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groisman said, while opening II Forum of the energy efficient partnership “Energy service: investments in energy efficiency of the budgetary sphere and advantages for residential buildings”.

“We start the stage of increasing the own gas extraction. Our task is to become fully energy independent state. We have enough opportunities and resources, which will allow us to be absolutely energy independent, develop the alternative energy. I believe that we will do all this in the medium term”, Prime Minister said.

He also emphasized that the decision of the government to set the market price for gas for all consumers in Ukraine, passed in this April, is the significant step in this direction, because it allows overcoming corruption in the sphere of gas supplies.

Previously the Prime Minister noted that Ukraine should increase its own extraction to the maximum as well as conduct the maximal policy of energy efficiency. According to Groisman, this will give the country an opportunity to fully develop at the expense of its own energy resources.

As UNIAN reported, in 2016 Ukraine plans to decrease import of natural gas versus 2015 by 20-30% - up to 11-13 bln cub.m. from 16.4 bln cub.m and make most purchases as per reverse scheme from EU countries.

Former Prime Minister Arsenii Yatseniuk previously stated that Ukraine, which today imports about a half of the natural gas for meeting its needs, intends to refuse from importing gas and become its exporter within 10 years.