The Naftogaz Group and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have discussed financing the purchase of natural gas and supporting its production in the face of Russian attacks.
As the group reported on Friday, these issues were the focus of a meeting between Naftogaz CEO Roman Chumak and EBRD President Audrey Renaud-Basso. The event was also attended by EBRD Vice President Matteo Patrone, Managing Director for Ukraine and Moldova Arvid Turkner, and Deputy Head of the EBRD in Ukraine Iryna Kravchenko.
“Strengthening the country’s energy resilience in the face of a full-scale war, ensuring a stable heating season and providing all categories of consumers with gas are our key objectives. We are grateful to the EBRD for its support and continue to work together on financial instruments to ensure Ukraine’s energy security,” Chumak emphasized during the meeting.
He also added that in today’s environment, flexible and operational solutions in cooperation with international partners allow Naftogaz to respond quickly to crisis situations and ensure uninterrupted energy supplies.
As reported with reference to the Minister of Energy of Ukraine Herman Halushchenko, Ukraine will need to import at least 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas by the end of 2025.
At the same time, according to former Energy Minister Olha Buslavets, the country will have to import 2-3 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2025 to cover the shortage.
According to her estimates, Ukraine should go through the heating season without serious gas supply restrictions, unless there are extreme frosts, but by the end of it, reserves in underground gas storage facilities (UGS) will amount to about 4.5-5 billion cubic meters, which means an additional need to import 2-3 billion cubic meters of gas by the end of this year.
PJSC Ukrnafta is working on implementing projects to generate energy from its own gas with a total capacity of up to 370 MW.
According to the company’s press release, this was announced by Duncan Nightingale, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Ukrnafta, during the World Economic Forum in Davos.
He thanked the governments of Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and the United States, as well as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for their support on the path to sustainable development and invited new partners to join the implementation of ambitious promising projects.
“We need to invest in Ukraine now. If you wait for the war to end, you may lose the most profitable projects,” Nightingale emphasized.
For his part, EBRD Vice President Matteo Patrone noted the positive financial results achieved by the company and improvements in the management system.
“They (Ukrnafta – IF-U) have demonstrated not only excellent financial results, but also true corporate governance. This is the achievement of Sergiy (Koretsky) and the Board. If two years ago I had been asked whether we would support Ukrnafta, I would have said no. But what has happened over the past 18 months is simply amazing,” he said.
“Ukrnafta is Ukraine’s largest oil producer and operator of a national network of filling stations. In March 2024, the company took over the management of Glusco’s assets and operates 547 filling stations – 462 owned and 85 managed.
The company is implementing a comprehensive program to restore operations and update the format of its filling stations. Since February 2023, the company has been issuing its own fuel coupons and NAFTAKarta cards, which are sold to legal entities and individuals through Ukrnafta-Postach LLC.
“Ukrnafta holds 92 special permits for commercial development of fields. It has 1832 oil and 154 gas production wells on its balance sheet.
Ukrnafta’s largest shareholder is Naftogaz of Ukraine with a 50%+1 share.
In November 2022, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine decided to transfer to the state a share of corporate rights of the company owned by private owners, which is currently managed by the Ministry of Defense.
Ukrnafta PJSC produced 1.170 billion cubic meters of gas in 2024, which is 6.5% more than in 2023 (1.097 billion cubic meters) and 1.418 million tons of oil, which is 0.6% more than in the previous year (1.410 million tons). According to the company’s press release on Thursday, production growth in oil equivalent in 2024 amounted to an additional 70.5 thousand tons of hydrocarbons, or 3%: 2.42 million tons against 2.35 million tons in 2023.
“Despite prolonged power outages that limited mechanized oil production, the company managed not only to compensate for the natural decline but also to ensure an increase in oil and gas volumes,” said Sergiy Koretsky, Ukrnafta’s CEO, as quoted in the press release. He added that the company has been improving its production figures for the second year in a row.
According to the company, in 2025, Ukrnafta will continue to drill new wells, upgrade equipment, replacing Soviet equipment with modern and technological equipment from world leaders, and intensify production.
“Ukrnafta is Ukraine’s largest oil producer and operator of the national network of gas stations. In March 2024, the company took over the management of Glusco assets and operates 547 filling stations – 462 owned and 85 managed.
The company is implementing a comprehensive program to restore operations and update the format of its filling stations. Since February 2023, the company has been issuing its own fuel coupons and NAFTAKarta cards, which are sold to legal entities and individuals through Ukrnafta-Postach LLC.
“Ukrnafta holds 92 special permits for commercial development of fields. It has 1832 oil and 154 gas production wells on its balance sheet.
Ukrnafta’s largest shareholder is Naftogaz of Ukraine with a 50%+1 share.
In November 2022, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine decided to transfer to the state a share of corporate rights of the company owned by private owners, which is currently managed by the Ministry of Defense.
In 2024, the OKKO filling station network put into operation 23 modules for refueling cars with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), bringing the total number to 356, the company’s press service reports.
In particular, five of them were launched as part of new filling stations, and another 18 were installed on the territory of existing complexes. Last year, the company invested UAH 80 million (excluding VAT) in expanding its gas filling service.
“As a result, drivers can choose this type of fuel at 85% of the network’s filling stations in all regions of Ukraine,” the press service said.
The largest number of autogas filling stations is in Lviv region – 56, Kyiv region – 32, Kyiv – 30, Dnipropetrovs’k region – 27, Vinnytsia – 26, Ivano-Frankivsk – 24.
The company’s plans for 2025 include the installation of about 10 more LPG modules.
As reported, according to the Group’s CEO Vasyl Danyliak, OKKO occupies about 19% of the Ukrainian retail fuel market in the fall of 2024.
OKKO Group unites more than 10 diversified businesses in production, trade, construction, insurance, maintenance and other services. The flagship company of the group is Galnaftogaz, which operates one of the largest filling stations in Ukraine under the OKKO brand, with 410 filling stations.
Vitaly Antonov’s GNG Retail Limited owns 90.25% of Concern Galnaftogaz shares. In October 2024, Avalia Investments Limited (Cyprus) became the owner of another 7.35% of the shares.
US President Donald Trump has lifted the moratorium on the issuance of new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export licenses imposed by his predecessor Joe Biden. The US Department of Energy reported that it is returning to the normal regime of reviewing export applications in accordance with Trump’s order.
“The Department has been instructed to resume reviewing applications for the export of US LNG to countries that do not have a free trade agreement with the United States. The proper review of export applications is required by law and must be carried out accordingly,” the Energy Ministry said in a statement.
In December, the agency published the results of a study on LNG exports and set February 18 as the deadline for public comments on it. Now the Ministry of Energy has decided to extend the comment period until March 20, 2025.
Earlier, the Experts Club think tank, Brian Mefford and Maxim Urakin, released a video analysis on what changes are expected to occur in US domestic and foreign policy under Trump, the video is available on the Experts Club YouTube channel – https://youtu.be/W2elNY1xczM?si=MM-QjSqGce4Tlq6T
EXPERTS CLUB, EXPORT, GAS, LICENSE, MORATORIUM, TRUMP, URAKIN, Меффорд
In 2024, Ukrgasvydobuvannya JSC increased commercial gas production by 5.3% (by 0.7 bcm) compared to 2023 – up to 13.9 bcm, the press service of Naftogaz Group reports.
According to it, last year the company commissioned 83 new wells, of which 60 were production wells and 23 were exploration wells.
“UGV also increased the number of directional wells drilled from 51 to 60 over the year, which allows for gas production in hard-to-reach areas. In addition, the company drilled 370 thousand meters over the year, which is 14% more than in 2023.
“Naftogaz Group not only maintains stability, but also demonstrates an increase in gas production. Every day our people demonstrate the ability to adapt to current challenges and ensure development even in the most difficult conditions. I am grateful to my colleagues for their teamwork and sincere dedication to the profession,” said Roman Chumak, Acting Chairman of Naftogaz of Ukraine. Roman Chumak.
As reported, Ukrgasvydobuvannya produced 13.224 billion cubic meters of commercial gas in 2023, which is 0.679 billion cubic meters more than in 2022.
NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine owns 100% of Ukrgasvydobuvannya shares.
