OREANDA-NEWS. Representatives of Naftogaz participated in the First US-Ukrainian Business Forum in Washington, DC (United States).

Andriy Kobolyev, CEO of Naftogaz, informed representatives of US businesses, government officials and international financial institutions about the progress of reforming Naftogaz and Ukraine's gas market over the last 15 months.

In particular, the following results were discussed:
- elimination of intermediaries in gas trade, previously the primary source of corruption in Ukraine's gas sector;
- strengthening the country's energy security through diversification of gas imports;
- initiation of the liberalization of domestic prices for natural gas, which reduces the burden on the budget and opens the way to implementation of critical projects in energy efficiency and increasing domestic gas production;
- development of the corporate governance reform strategy for Naftogaz;
- adoption of the new Gas Market Law, which is fully compliant with the EU Third Energy Package and makes Ukrainian gas market transparent and convenient for investors.

"We're inspired by this considerable interest in our country, and we highly appreciate US support for reforming Ukraine's oil and gas sector. These changes make the sector attractive for western investments at each stage of the value chain, including gas production, transportation and consumption. The investments are needed to reduce Ukraine's dependence on gas imports, create new jobs and make energy consumption in Ukraine more efficient", - said Kobolyev.

At the forum, Naftogaz signed a two-year Memorandum of Understanding with Frontera Resources, a US oil and gas company. The parties plan to assess feasibility of a potential cooperation in exploration and development of Ukraine's oil and gas, as well as in implementation of the project of LNG imports from Frontera Resources capacities in Georgia. The company's proven reserves of natural gas in Georgia amount to about 300 billion cubic meters.

At the Forum, TrailStone, a US-based oil and gas company which supplies gas to Naftogaz in the European market, announced its plans to enter the Ukrainian market in the autumn of 2015. Naftogaz welcomed this decision and expressed its commitment to support the entry of new Western market players in the Ukrainian market.