Demand for motor fuel during large-scale power outages may increase by 10-20%, and the fuel market is fully prepared for this, according to Yuriy Kuchabsky, OKKO’s vice president of procurement, wholesale sales, and new business.
“If there is a blackout, we are prepared. We estimate that there may be a 10-20% jump in fuel sales. The market will cope with this very easily,” he said during the “Energy that keeps Ukraine going” forum organized by RBC-Ukraine, which was recently held in Kyiv.
According to him, the reason to expect the market to be ready for surges in demand is primarily that it is not monopolized and has been tempered by various trials, including the loss of supplies from Russia with the start of a full-scale invasion, power outages, and Russian strikes on the Kremenchug oil refinery and oil depots.
“There was a test of endurance at the beginning of the summer when the Kremenchug oil refinery was bombed and it effectively disappeared from the market in a single day. In the same month, the number of importers increased sharply, by about 50 companies. And there was no shortage, the market was flooded. So there will be no disaster now either. The market has also learned to operate without oil depots so as not to create additional targets for the enemy,” Kuchabsky explained.
OKKO Group brings together more than 10 diverse businesses in the fields of manufacturing, trade, construction, insurance, services, and other services. The group’s flagship company is Halnaftogaz, which operates one of the largest gas station chains in Ukraine under the OKKO brand, with nearly 400 gas stations.
The founder and ultimate beneficiary of the group is Vitaliy Antonov.
