Ukrtransgaz plans to invest UAH 998.277 million in the development of natural gas storage facilities in 2024 in accordance with the gas storage development plan for 2024-2033 approved by the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NEURC) at a meeting on Tuesday.
“We are moving towards 100% fulfillment of investment programs in general,” said Roman Malyutin, Ukrtransgaz CEO, at the meeting.
According to him, the approved plan provides for the reconstruction and construction of fixed assets of technological processes in the gas storage system, the development of critical infrastructure security facilities, including cybersecurity, and information technology.
According to the document, the company intends to invest UAH 472.355 million this year in the operation of gas storage facilities, UAH 415.988 million in the development of underground gas storage facilities, UAH 66.442 million in the modernization and purchase of vehicles, special machines and mechanisms, UAH 27.413 million in the purchase of diagnostic and inspection equipment and other devices, and UAH 16.079 million in industrial and administrative buildings.
In total, Ukrtransgaz’s gas storage development plan for 2024-2033 envisages an investment of UAH 14 billion 534.148 million.
The Government of Ukraine has maintained zero quotas for the export of natural gas of Ukrainian origin, edible salt, anthracite, coal and coal briquettes, gold, silver, as well as precious metal waste and scrap for 2024.
The Cabinet of Ministers published Resolution No. 1402 of December 27 on the list of goods subject to licensing on its website.
According to the resolution, the quotas for the export of liquid fuel (fuel oil), which were in effect in 2023, were preserved – 540 thousand tons (no more than 60 thousand tons per month) and coking coal – 900 thousand tons.
In addition, the government has extended the ban on the export of fuel wood, wood chips or shavings for January-February 2023, after which the export of these goods will be removed from the list of licensed goods.
The licensing of wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, soybeans, rapeseed and sunflower seeds, soybean, rapeseed, sunflower and mustard oil, and oilcake has also been retained.
ANTHRACITE, BAN, EXPORT, GAS, SALT
Naftogaz Group has increased gas production by more than 400 thousand cubic meters by launching three wells in November, its CEO Oleksiy Chernyshov said.
“We continue to increase Ukrainian gas production! In November alone, three high-rate wells were put into operation (…). In total, in November we have an additional 400 thousand cubic meters of gas per day!” he wrote on his Facebook page on Friday.
Chernyshov clarified that two of the mentioned wells are new. Their launch was the result of the implementation of the largest 3D seismic survey program in the history of modern Ukraine and the high professionalism of Naftogaz specialists. The third well is a rehabilitated well that had been in the liquidation fund for 35 years.
As reported, in 2023, Ukrgasvydobuvannya set a goal to increase natural gas production by 1 billion cubic meters to 13.5 billion cubic meters. In 2022, the company produced 12.5 bcm of natural gas (commercial), which is 3% less than in 2021.
NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine owns 100% of Ukrgasvydobuvannya shares.
From April to October 2023, GTSOU transported 3.2 bcm of natural gas from the EU and Moldova to Ukraine, which is 4.5 times more than in the same period last year – 716 mcm.
“The main volumes belong to foreign companies and have been received for storage in Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities,” GTS Operator of Ukraine LLC (GTSOU) reported on its website on Friday.
This season, the main source of natural gas supply was the Slovak direction – 1.373 billion cubic meters, or 43% of the total volume. Hungary received 918.2 million cubic meters (29%), Poland – 382.5 million cubic meters (12%), Romania through Moldova – 540.5 million cubic meters (16%).
According to the GTSOU, the southern branch of the Ukrainian GTS, which is part of the Trans-Balkan Corridor, was actively used this year for commercial gas supplies from Romania. Mostly, gas was transported via this route by order of foreign traders for storage in Ukraine.
“We are ready to offer new solutions to our customers, and among them, in particular, we see the Trans-Balkan Corridor. This route is able to unite the markets of Southern and Central Europe, connect LNG terminals in Greece, storage facilities in Ukraine and Central European consumers into one supply chain,” said Dmytro Lippa, CEO of the GTSOU.
As reported, stress testing conducted by the Ukrainian GTS and UGS operators with USAID assistance in August 2023 confirmed the high reliability of the Ukrainian gas infrastructure, including the storage and transportation of gas to foreign customers, even in the face of military risk of damage to key assets.
“Chernihivgaz” JSC has come under the management of “Naftogaz” Group, the company’s press service said on Tuesday.
“Chernihivgaz” became the 18th enterprise to come under state control.
The company delivers gas to almost 360,000 homes, regulates its distribution to budgetary and religious organizations, industrial facilities and municipal heating enterprises,
“Chernihivgaz” joined the “Naftogaz” Group as part of the transfer of gas distribution companies to state control. At present, personal accounts of customers, as well as tariffs for distribution services, remain unchanged”, the statement said.
As reported, at the end of May 2022, at the request of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), the court transferred the seized private corporate rights to 26 regional and city gas distribution system operators to the management of the ARMA.
In September 2022, “Naftogaz” of Ukraine registered Gas Distribution Networks of Ukraine LLC (“Gazomerezhi”), whose main activity is gas distribution through local pipelines.
By Resolution No. 1335 dated November 25, 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers transferred state-owned gas distribution networks to “Gazomerezhy” for operation.
In April and the first half of October 2023, GTS Operator LLC transported more than 3 bcm of natural gas from the EU and Moldova to Ukraine, which is seven times more than the volume of the resource transported during the same period last year (more than 414 mcm), the Energy Ministry reported.
Of the transported gas, 2.4 billion cubic meters of fuel belonging to foreign companies are stored in domestic UGS facilities, according to its release on Monday.
According to the GTSOU, cited by the Energy Ministry, the main transportation route remains the Slovakian one, with 45% of the gas volumes coming from there. Natural gas was also supplied from Hungary, Poland, and the Trans-Balkan route (from Romania via Moldova).
The Ministry of Energy noted that the Trans-Balkan route was used for the first time this year, mainly transporting gas ordered by foreign traders for storage in Ukraine.
As reported, natural gas supplies to Ukraine in September 2023 from the European Union and Moldova amounted to 982.7 bcm. In April-September 2023, Ukraine received more than 2.8 bcm from the EU and Moldova, which exceeds the corresponding figures for the same periods in 2021 and 2022.
As noted by Oleksiy Chernyshov, CEO of Naftogaz Group, the volume of non-resident gas in Ukraine’s underground storage facilities reached 2.2 bcm at the beginning of October.
Stress testing conducted by the Ukrainian GTS and UGS operators with the assistance of USAID in August 2023 confirmed the high reliability of the Ukrainian gas infrastructure, including the storage and transportation of gas from foreign customers, even in the face of military risk of damage to key assets.
