In 2025, companies belonging to the Smart Holding investment group paid UAH 860 million to the state budget, which is 28.3% less than in 2024 and 4.3 times less than in 2022, according to a press release from the holding company.
“(This) became an anti-record since 2016 in terms of filling the state budget of Ukraine. Such a significant reduction was the result of forced downtime of Smart Energy gas production enterprises due to the systematic blocking of licenses since 2023,” the company explained.
The group recalled that in 2023, Smart Energy’s gas production enterprises in the Kharkiv region were initially blocked for 1.5 years due to sanctions imposed on the group’s owners, and now gas production in the Poltava region has been suspended for a year.
The release does not contain data on the volume of consolidated revenue for 2025 and its dynamics, but it is stated that “due to the reduction in operating activities, UAH 3.2 billion in planned investments in Ukrainian subsoil resources were suspended, and the mark of UAH 3.1 billion in aid to protect Ukraine in 2025 has not changed.”
Smart Holding specified that in 2022, its enterprises paid UAH 3.7 billion to the state budget, in 2023 – UAH 1.6 billion, and in 2024 – UAH 1.2 billion.
The group for the restoration of gas production once again proposes to specify the type of sanctions imposed by the NSDC decision of October 8, 2024, and recalls that a similar instrument, without lifting the sanctions against the ultimate beneficiaries, has already been used in Ukraine.
Smart Energy, part of the Smart Holding investment group, implements projects for the exploration and industrial development of hydrocarbon deposits and was one of the five largest private gas producers in Ukraine, producing a total of over 1 million cubic meters of gas per day at the start of full-scale Russian military aggression.
Before the war, the hydrocarbon reserves at Smart Energy’s gas production assets were estimated at C1+C2 categories in the amount of 22.633 billion cubic meters of gas and 3.722 million tons of condensate.
In January-July 2024, JSC Ukrgasvydobuvannya and PJSC Ukrnafta increased commercial gas production by 7% compared to the same period last year, to 8.6 bcm, the press service of Naftogaz Group reports.
According to the press service, these figures also exceed the group’s production plan by 2%.
“The Group’s companies are increasing gas production by launching new high-performance wells, introducing new technologies and working effectively with the old stock. We exceeded our targets by 2%. The work continues not only in the central and western regions, but also in the eastern ones, despite all the military challenges,” said Oleksiy Chernyshev, CEO of Naftogaz.
As reported, in January-June 2024, UGV and Ukrnafta increased commercial gas production by 8% compared to the first half of last year – up to 7.3 bcm.
Naftogaz’s consolidated quarterly report says that the group’s forecasted commercial gas production for 2024 is expected to reach 14.6 bcm. In February, Chernyshov emphasized that the group’s goal for this year is to get closer to 15 billion cubic meters.
Gross gas production in Ukraine in January-June 2024 amounted to 9.4 billion cubic meters and by the end of the year can grow twice – by 100-200 million cubic meters more than last year’s figure (18.7 billion cubic meters), said Artem Petrenko, executive director of the Association of Gas Producers.
“According to our conservative forecasts for today, Ukraine in 2024 will be able to increase its own production by 100-200 million cubic meters compared to last year’s figure. We are oriented at 18.8 billion cubic meters per year. But this is such a conservative base scenario, which takes into account neither possible positive nor negative aspects,” he said in comments to Energoreforma on the sidelines of the Ukrainian Gas Open 2024 Energy Club, held on Thursday in Kiev.
According to Petrenko’s presentation at the forum, drilling of about 70 wells (150 wells for the whole of 2023) has been started in half a year.
He named the state-owned Ukrgasvydobuvannya as the flagship in this process, noting that private companies are also actively involved in drilling and working to increase production.
“In particular, Smart Energy is now resuming hydrocarbon production at three sites in Kharkiv and Poltava regions. Therefore, I hope that by the end of the year they will add to the total gas production,” said the executive director of the association.
At the same time, he noted that the daily production of private companies fell by 18% compared to last year.
Ukrgazvydobuvannya (UGV) has launched two more high-yield wells with a flow rate of 270,000 cubic meters and 120,000 cubic meters of gas per day, the press service of Naftogaz Group said Tuesday. According to it, the wells are 6,200 meters and 6,225 meters deep, drilled in the same field, in the same reservoir and almost simultaneously, so they are called “twins” in technical slang.
Thanks to the use of modern drilling machines, the skill of Ukrburgaz specialists and the reduction of accidents during the work, the wells were drilled in 8 months, whereas previously it took 2-3 years.
“New seismic and drilling data allowed our specialists to create a high-quality 3D model, which is one of the best in “Ukrgasvydobuvannya” and allows us to effectively plan the directions of further development of this field. The works on the field continue, and drilling of the next appraisal and production well will be completed soon”, – Oleg Tolmachev, Head of UGV, noted.
In total, since the beginning of 2024, UGV has already put into operation seven new high-yield wells, including twin wells.
As reported, UGV launched 86 new wells during 2023, of which 24 – with an initial flow rate of more than 100 thousand cubic meters.
In 2022, UGV produced 12.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas (marketable), which is 3% less than in 2021. At the end of 2023, the company’s marketable gas production amounted to 13.224 billion cubic meters, which is 0.679 billion cubic meters more than in 2022. The target for 2024 is 13.75 billion cubic meters.
Naftohaz Ukrainy owns 100% of Ukrhazvydobuvannya.
In 2023, PJSC Ukrnafta increased oil and condensate production by 3% (by 39.9 thousand tons) compared to 2022, to 1 million 409.9 thousand tons, the company’s press service said on Monday.
Last year’s production of natural and associated petroleum gas amounted to 1 billion 97.4 million cubic meters, which is 5.8% (60.4 million cubic meters) more than in 2022.
“I would like to thank the company’s team for not only holding the natural decline in a full-fledged war year, but also increasing production. In difficult conditions, you have made every effort to achieve results,” said Sergiy Koretsky, Ukrnafta’s CEO.
According to him, in 2024, Ukrnafta plans to drill new wells and intensify production, invite partners to the fields and replace old Soviet and Russian equipment with modern world-class models.
As reported, in 2022 the company produced 1.37 million tons of oil and condensate and 1.037 billion cubic meters of gas.
“Ukrnafta’s strategic goal is to double its oil and natural gas production to 3 million tons and 2 billion cubic meters by 2027, respectively.
“Ukrnafta is Ukraine’s largest oil producer and operator of a national network of 537 filling stations, of which 456 are in operation.
Ukrnafta’s largest shareholder is Naftogaz of Ukraine with a 50%+1 share. On November 5, 2022, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine decided to transfer the corporate rights of the company owned by private owners, which is now managed by the Ministry of Defense, to the state.
Due to the commissioning of new wells, JSC Ukrgasvydobuvannya (UGV) has increased its daily production of commercial natural gas by 3.31 million cubic meters since the beginning of 2023, according to a press release from Naftogaz Group on Friday.
“Thanks to the commissioning of 54 new gas wells since the beginning of the year and an increase in the number of service operations in August, the average daily production of natural gas by Ukrgasvydobuvannya reached its highest level since June 2020,” the company said.
According to Oleh Tolmachov, Acting CEO of UGV, the achieved increase in average daily production will allow the company to exceed the results of the previous two years by the end of the current year.
“In difficult conditions, the Ukrgasvydobuvannya team continues to work to provide the country with its own energy resources. I am grateful to my colleagues for their professionalism,” Tolmachev said in the press release.
As reported, UGV aims to increase natural gas production by 1 billion cubic meters in 2023 to 13.5 billion cubic meters. In 2022, UGV produced 12.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas (commercial), which is 3% less than in 2021.
NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine owns 100% of Ukrgasvydobuvannya shares.
