POWER April 2013 - 12

reach an agreement to bring down the prices Ukraine pays
for Russian gas, Moscow and Kiev were embroiled in a fresh
gas dispute. Gazprom billed Naftogas $6.77 billion under a
" take-or-pay " clause of the 2009 agreement that Ukraine has
to disburse, even if it does not import gas. In 2012, Ukraine
bought 32.9 bcm of Russian gas, while the deal stipulated it
should have imported a minimum of 42 bcm.
Ukrainian officials lauded the regional council's decision
to approve development of the shale gas field in January,
saying its annual production could exceed 20 bcm and lower
gas prices within five or six years while boosting the country's
energy independence from Russia. The country is also
looking to develop the Olesska gas field in the western part
of the country but has yet to make a production-sharing
agreement-likely with Chevron-official.
UK Lifts Shale Gas Ban
Last December, nearly a year and a half after the UK halted
unconventional shale gas exploration when a project near
Blackpool set off tremors, Energy and Climate Change Secretary
Edward Davey approved shale gas fracking. The approval
means shale gas developers can resume fracking but will operate
under more stringent rules, including more in-depth
assessments for seismic risks.
The UK is facing a massive power shortfall if it cannot find
new capacity to replace about 21 GW that is set to be phased
out by 2030 due to age and EU pollution rules. Highlighting
the country's energy dilemma are its dwindling conventional
natural gas reserves that have forced it to become a net
importer. Though the government estimates that the UK's
onshore shale gas reserves hover at 150 bcm, only one shale
gas firm, Cuadrilla Resources, has an exploration license.
However, the government has called for the creation of a
new office to simplify regulation and offer tax incentives to
sprout a working shale gas industry.
Bulgarian PM Quits Over Power
Price Protests
Protests in more than 20 cities by tens of thousands of Bulgarians
over January electricity bills that averaged more
than €100 ($130) forced the country's prime minister, Boyko
Borissov, and his center-right government to resign in midFebruary.
Bulgarians,
who have the lowest average salary in the European
Union (EU)-about €387 ($504) a month-reportedly
accused three foreign-owned energy companies of what they
said were unreasonably high electricity bills. Brushing aside
government platitudes that January was an exceptionally
frigid month, they showed outrage at reports that the companies
pulled in windfall profits. According to some media
reports, Bulgarians alleged corruption among Czech firms CEZ
and Energo-Pro and Austria's EVN and the government. The
three firms control the country's power distribution market,
which was divided into three regions when the country privatized
its network a decade ago.
Enhanced PDF version now available
The 2013 UDI Who's Who Directory covers more than 4,200
U.S. and Canadian generating plants. The directory provides:
* Nearly 8,500 plant management and support
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* Basic plant operating statistics for more than 1,500
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Generation (MWh)
Availability (%)
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* Power plant design characteristics
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For more detailed information and a list of all available data, visit us online at UDIDATA.COM or contact the UDI Editorial team at UDI@Platts.com.
12
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POWER April 2013

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