National and local budgets of Ukraine in 2018 may not receive around UAH 10 billion over the illegal sale of fuel, Head of the fiscal committee of the Ukrainian Oil & Gas Association Nelia Pryvalova said at the Petroleum Ukraine X Conference organized by the A-95 consulting group (Kyiv) on Wednesday.

"At least 1,500 gas stations work with violations. The volume of fuel sold through illegal stations that work without permits, amounts to about 40,000 tonnes a month... The estimated losses of the national and local budgets in 2018 from the operation of the illegal market amount to about UAH 10 billion," she said.

Pryvalova, referring to the data of the association, said that the shadow market in the segment of diesel fuel reaches 20%, liquefied petroleum gas - from 30% to 50%, depending on the region.

However, she recalled that illegal filling stations work without documents on a land parcel, without formal employment of workers and in violation of safety rules. At the same time, the threshold for entering this "business" is extremely low.

"If building a legal filling station costs about $2.5 million, then to supply an illegal "barrel" costs $20,000-30,000," she said.

The Ukrainian Oil & Gas Association has prepared a number of bills and initiatives that, according to Pryvalova, will be able to help eliminate illegal companies from the fuel market.