The OKKO group of companies, together with its agribusiness partner Gadz-Agro LLC (Ternopil region) have expanded their land bank to 50,000 hectares and will increase it to 100,000 hectares by 2030, while the number of cows will be increased from 11,000 to 15,000, OKKO Group CEO Vasyl Danylak said in an interview with Forbes Ukraina.
He recalled that OKKO entered the agricultural business in 2023 and offered the owner of Gadz-Agro to build a biogas plant near his cowsheds. However, he proposed another option for cooperation – to enter into a partnership and develop together.
“We entered into a 50/50 partnership with Gadz Agro. They are a long-standing client with whom we worked on an agricultural financing program. (…) At that time, it was a company with 26,000 hectares of land and 9,500 cows – a large company with a remarkable owner,” said Danylak.
The CEO of OKKO reported that in 2024, the agricultural business expanded its land bank by almost 6,000 hectares and invested in cowsheds. Currently, the joint ownership includes 32,000 hectares of land and 11,000 cows, which produce 188 tons of milk per day. During 2025, OKKO and Gadz-Agro consolidated more than 17,000 hectares.
“This business fits organically into our structure – we supply fuel and fertilizers there, and we get meat for our workshops and grain for our traders from there,” explained Danilyak.
According to him, OKKO Group and Gadz-Agro plan to increase their land bank to 100,000 hectares by 2030, have 15,000 cows, and build a biogas production facility.
“The idea is for this business to be self-sufficient and pay dividends. (…) In terms of return on investment, agriculture and petroleum products are roughly equivalent businesses. But the investment opportunities are different. We have the opportunity to invest in agriculture, but not in expanding the network,” Danilyak noted.
At the same time, the CEO of OKKO expressed confidence that agribusiness in Ukraine will grow in the foreseeable future, while the petroleum products market is unlikely to do so. “A growing market forgives mistakes. A falling market does not forgive mistakes,” he stressed.
Responding to a question about the specifics of doing business with a partner in the agricultural sector, Danilyak clarified that OKKO and Gadz-Agro are represented by two representatives each on the supervisory board. He added that OKKO GROUP does not plan to invest in port logistics for the export of agricultural products.
OKKO Group unites more than 10 diverse businesses in the fields of manufacturing, trade, construction, insurance, services, and other services. The group’s flagship company is Galnaftogaz, which operates one of the largest petrol station chains in Ukraine under the OKKO brand, with almost 400 petrol stations.
The founder and ultimate beneficiary of the group is Vitaliy Antonov.
OKKO Group of Companies has installed 64 solar power plants (SPPs) on the roofs of gasoline filling stations (FFS) during 2025, its website reported on Wednesday.
“As of the end of 2025, already 265 ”OKKO“ are equipped with SES installed on the roof of filling stations (…) Thanks to the use of solar modules, last year the network of ‘OKKO’ covered 8.4% of the needs of its filling stations in electricity,” the company said.
Now the total capacity of the installed SES reaches 6 MW. The volume of investments in rooftop stations since 2021, when the company started developing the solar project, has reached more than $3 million, with most of the invested funds already returned in the form of savings in electricity costs, the group emphasized.
In 2026, the network plans to install SES at more than 40 more of its gas stations, investing another $0.5 million in their installation and startup, which is expected to increase the share of solar energy in the gas station network’s energy consumption to 9.5%.
“Our goal is to install SES at all filling stations of ”OKKO”, where there is such a technical possibility. According to our estimates, this is more than 350 filling stations in all regions of Ukraine. During the period of active generation such SES can provide from 15% to 55% of the daily electricity needs of filling stations“, – said the head of the energy efficient solutions sector of ”OKKO” Vitaliy Gut.
As reported with reference to the CEO of OKKO Group holding, co-founder of GORO Mountain Resort Vasyl Danilyak, the group plans to commission its first Ivanichi 147 MW WPP in Volyn region in the first quarter of 2026. According to him, OKKO has already started with a new wind power project in the neighborhood of the first one – the Zaturintsy VES 192 MW.
OKKO Group unites more than 10 diversified businesses in the sphere of production, trade, construction, insurance, service and other services. The flagship company of the group is Galnaftogaz Concern, which operates one of the largest gasoline networks in Ukraine under the brand name OKKO with almost 400 gasoline filling complexes.
The founder and ultimate beneficiary of the group is Vitaliy Antonov.
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.
The OKKO Group, which includes the operator of the Galnaftogaz concern’s network of gas stations, plans to commission its first 147 MW wind farm in Ivanychi, Volyn Oblast, by the end of 2025 or the first quarter of 2026, said Vasyl Danylak, CEO of OKKO GROUP holding and co-founder of GORO Mountain Resort.
“I hope that by the end of this year, or possibly in the first quarter of next year, we will commission a 147 MW wind farm, which we are building jointly with the EBRD, IFC, and CDB,” Danylak said during the Kyiv International Economic Forum in Kyiv on Thursday.
According to him, the Group has already “launched” a new wind energy project next to the first one – the 192 MW Zatyrintsy wind farm.
In addition, Danylak noted that OKKO has completed the first phase of its bioethanol plant and is building the GORO Mountain Resort hotel complex at a “good pace.”
“We have built the silo section and completed construction work on the large bioethanol plant itself, and we plan to commission it next year. Our hotel has been under construction for a year now, and progress is very good. I hope that in the coming years we will make a big mark on the tourist map not only of Ukraine but also of Europe,” the head of OKKO shared his plans.
He noted that the Group is motivated to make large investments by new opportunities that have recently opened up.
“On the one hand, the war is a great tragedy that has exposed a number of problems in various sectors, particularly in energy. It turned out that the huge Soviet energy facilities were vulnerable. Therefore, the government and the Ministry of Energy set a course for decentralization of power generation. This is absolutely right. At that time, we had a shrinking fuel market and decided to work in related industries,” explained Danylyak.
He cited the transparency of the company’s activities, the clear fulfillment of its obligations, and a professional, motivated team as the keys to OKKO’s success and active cooperation with international financial organizations.
As reported, over the next five years, OKKO plans to have approximately 600 MW of capacity in wind energy, 200 MW in solar energy, and 150 MW in energy storage facilities (ESF).
In particular, the OKKO Group is building the 147 MW Ivanychi WPP in the Volyn region with a total cost of EUR 225 million (excluding VAT) and is seeking financing for its second wind energy project in this region – the 192 MW Zatyrintsy WPP, which is estimated at EUR 250 million (excluding VAT).
The Group also won a five-year special auction held by NPC Ukrenergo for the provision of power system balancing services, in which it announced the installation of a 20 MW energy storage facility (ESF). The commissioning of the ESF was announced in April.
In addition, the group plans to open a new 60,000-tonne elevator by autumn 2025 and a bioethanol plant in summer 2026. An important component of OKKO’s agricultural portfolio is its partnership with the Gadz-Agro enterprise in the Ternopil region, in which the company acquired a stake in 2023. The company cultivates 26,000 hectares of land and has about 10,000 head of cattle, of which 5,000 are dairy cows. It is also one of the largest horticultural farms in Ukraine, but OKKO has decided not to integrate the horticultural part of the business.
OKKO Group unites more than 10 diverse businesses in the fields of manufacturing, trade, construction, insurance, services, and other services. The flagship company of the group is Halnaftogaz, which operates one of the largest petrol station chains in Ukraine under the OKKO brand, with almost 400 petrol stations.
The founder and ultimate beneficiary of the group is Vitaliy Antonov.
Ukrnafta JSC continues its rebranding program for filling stations acquired from Shell, adding eight more complexes in the Kyiv region to its UKRNAFTA brand.
“The renewal of the UKRNAFTA gas station network continues — we are expanding our presence in the Kyiv region. From now on, eight more rebranded complexes are ready to welcome customers,” the company announced on Facebook.
According to the company, this includes the renovated gas stations on Stolichnoe Highway in the direction of Obukhiv, on the Kyiv-Chop highway within Korostyshiv, and on the Kyiv-Kharkiv highway near Boryspil and within Berezan.
In addition, gas stations in the city of Uzyn in the Bila Tserkva district, in the city of Skvyra in the direction of Zhytomyr, and in the center of the city of Pereyaslav have been rebranded.
“Stop by. Refuel. Relax,” Ukrnafta emphasized.
As reported in August this year, citing former Ukrnafta commercial director Serhiy Fedorenko, Ukrnafta acquired 131 gas stations from Shell, 118 of which are operational, while the rest are located near the front line or in temporarily occupied territories. After closing the deal, the company planned to consolidate its position as the largest network in Ukraine, with the number of its gas stations set to increase by 22% to 663. Its closest competitor, OKKO, has 410 gas stations.
Under the agreement with Shell, Ukrnafta must complete the rebranding of its gas stations, the cost of which is insignificant on a network scale, by the end of February 2026. In turn, the cost of rebranding, which includes the renovation and standardization of gas stations and will take several years, will be significant but justified.
Ukrnafta is Ukraine’s largest oil producer and operates the national gas station network. In March 2024, it took over the management of Glusco’s assets and currently operates a total of 662 gas stations.
The company holds 92 special permits for industrial development of deposits. It has 1,832 oil and 154 gas production wells on its balance sheet.
The largest shareholder of Ukrnafta 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 the company’s corporate rights, which belonged to private owners, to the state, and they are currently managed by the Ministry of Defense.
Ukrnafta’s net profit for 2024 was UAH 16.38 billion.
Gadz-Agro LLC (Ternopil region), the agricultural division of the OKKO Group, has completed the first stage of harvesting, the company’s press service reported on Facebook.
According to the report, in the 2025 season, Gadz-Agro achieved a yield of winter rapeseed at 3.87 tons/ha, winter barley – 9.23 tons/ha, winter wheat – 8.63 tons/ha, spring barley – 6.58 tons/ha, spring wheat – 6.95 tons/ha, and peas – 4.61 tons/ha.
“The harvest is complete! It was a difficult but extremely productive period, during which every employee contributed to the common cause. These figures are not only indicators of yield, but also evidence of the dedicated work, professionalism, and unity of our team,” the company said.
Gadz Agro is engaged in crop and livestock farming on 26,000 hectares. It is one of the largest horticultural enterprises in Ukraine. It has its own processing facilities, in particular, it produces and exports apple chips under the Garden Gadz trademark, which will be sold in the international retail chain Lidl starting in 2023.
According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Individuals, the companies were founded by Petro Gadz (50%) and OKKO Group owner Vitaliy Antonov through GnG Retail Limited (50%).
According to Vasyl Danylyak, CEO of OKKO Group, an important component of OKKO’s agricultural portfolio is its partnership with Gadz-Agro, which the company acquired a stake in in 2023. OKKO decided not to integrate the part of the business related to horticulture.
