Supplies of natural gas to Ukraine via Poland under a contract signed between national joint-stock company Naftogaz Ukrainy and Germany's RWE from April 1, 2013 will grow to five million cubic meters a day, while since early 2013 as of March 17, 2013 they stood at two million cubic meters a day.

"Public joint-stock company Ukrtransgaz has made steps that will allow accepting gas from Poland… From April 1, 2013 shipments will come to five million cubic meters a day," reads a report of the Ukrainian state-run company.

Ukrtransgaz reminded that the company signed several supplements to the operation agreement on gas transportation from Poland to Ukraine with GAS-System, under which from November 1, 2012 natural gas is delivered to Ukraine via the Du500 gas pipeline and the amount of gas is metered at the Hermanowice gas measuring station (Poland).

As for supplies from Hungary, the launch of which was announced in Budapest by Ukrainian Premier Mykola Azarov on Thursday, Ukrtransgaz said that a technical agreement was signed with the operator of the Hungarian gas transport system - FGSZ Ltd, which received a permit to supply gas to Ukraine from the Hungarian energy regulator.

"The technical possibility of pumping gas from Hungary to Ukraine is up to three million cubic meters a day. After taking the required technical measures at the gas transport system by Ukrtransgaz in the second quarter of 2013, the technical possibility of pumping gas from Hungary will expand to 15 million cubic meters a day," the Ukrainian state company said.

Ukrtransgaz also proposed to Slovakia that they use one of the four operating gas pipelines to supply gas to Ukraine in a reverse mode, which will allow accepting up to 10 billion cubic meters of gas a year to the gas transport system operated by the company.

"Ukrtransgaz's specialists are working jointly with representatives of Eustream on the interconnection agreement. Its signing is scheduled for March 2013, and the technical agreement to it will be signed in April 2013," reads the report.

According to the report, Ukrtransgaz is also in talks with Romania's SNTGN Transgaz on the possibility to pump natural gas via Romania. The company has already signed a memorandum of intent.

"The possible volumes of gas delivered from Tekovo are up to five million cubic meters a day. The issue of pumping gas to Ukraine via the Orlivka gas measuring station," the Ukrainian company said.

As reported, because of Russian Gazprom's plans to reduce gas shipments to Europe via the Ukrainian gas transportation system and Moscow's unwillingness to reduce the gas price for Ukraine, Kyiv in November of 2012 began using its gas transportation facilities in reverse to bring in gas from Europe.

According to the deputy chief of national oil and gas company Naftogaz Ukrainy, Vadym Chuprun, Ukraine plans to sign agreements for the reverse delivery of natural gas from Germany through Hungary and Slovakia of the amount of 7 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2013.

In November 2012, the price of imported gas under the contract with RWE stood at $425 per 1,000 cubic meters, and in December - $407.5 per 1,000 cubic meters.

Ukraine imported 99.417 million cubic meters of gas worth $40.185 million from Germany in November through December 2012.

According to the State Statistics Service, in 2012 Naftogaz Ukrainy and OstChem Holding Limited (Cyprus) imported 32.927 billion cubic meters of gas from Russia and Germany worth $14.025 billion.