Ukraine's Quest for Energy Diversification

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said Nov. 28 that his country hopes to begin receiving liquefied natural gas shipments in early 2015. During an official visit to Qatar, Yanukovich said a consortium is being created to construct an LNG terminal in Ukraine and that he hopes Qatar will become one of Ukraine's main suppliers of liquefied natural gas. Yanukovich's statement is in line with an announcement made by Kiev on Nov. 26 about the formation of a consortium with Spanish energy firm Gas Natural Fenosa to build the $1.1 billion project. However, the company denied its involvement, issuing a statement that it is not "studying anything along these lines."

Building an LNG plant is just one part of Ukraine's plan to diversify its energy supplies away from Russia. But as this development indicates, Kiev faces many challenges in truly weaning itself from Russian energy. The extent to which Ukraine can cut its imports from Russia will be key in gauging Kiev's ability to prevent Moscow from expanding its economic and political influence in the coming months and years.