The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has set the heating season from November 1 to March 31, instead of the previous period from October 15 to April 15.
The government formalized its decision by Resolution No. 1267 of October 8, 2025, “On amendments to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of July 19, 2022, No. 812 ‘On approval of the Regulation on the imposition of special obligations on natural gas market entities to ensure public interests in the process of functioning of the natural gas market regarding the peculiarities of natural gas supply to heat producers and budgetary institutions.’”
Source: https://interfax.com.ua/
The total level of natural gas reserves in Ukrainian underground storage facilities (UGS) at the end of last week was 11.5 billion cubic meters (including 4.7 billion cubic meters of long-term storage gas), which is 2% lower than last year’s figure.
This was reported by former Energy Minister Olga Buslavets on her Facebook page.
“Daily gas consumption in Ukraine over the past week has fluctuated at 23-24 million cubic meters per day, which, according to AGSI (the European platform Agregated Gas Storage Inventory – IF-U), allows more than 50 million cubic meters per day to be pumped into UGS facilities,” she wrote.
This daily injection volume is possible thanks to the available gas import volumes, which, according to the Ukrainian Gas Transmission System Operator (OGTSU), have amounted to about 23-24 million cubic meters per day from Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia since the beginning of September (excluding short-haul transit).
In turn, as Buslavets noted, at the end of last week, natural gas reserves in European UGS facilities increased to 84.5 billion cubic meters with a fill rate of 79%, which is 7% below the average for the last five years and 16% below last year’s level, or 16 billion cubic meters.
As reported, the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine plans to accumulate 13.2 billion cubic meters (or 8.6 billion cubic meters without taking into account “buffer gas”) by November 1, 2025, which, according to former OGTSU head Serhiy Makogon, is too low and will require additional imports of 1.5 billion cubic meters in winter.
The Norwegian government has allocated 1 billion Norwegian kroner ($98.3 million) to Ukraine for the purchase of natural gas, according to Serhiy Koretsky, CEO of Naftogaz Ukraine.
“This is a clear response from our partners to Russian terror aimed at depriving Ukrainians of heat in winter,” he wrote on Facebook on Friday.
According to Koretsky, Naftogaz will use these funds to purchase gas to meet the needs of the heating season.
“The assistance received will be an important contribution to a stable winter in 2025-2026 and to strengthening the country’s energy security,” he stressed.
As reported with reference to Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, on August 13, Naftogaz of Ukraine and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed an agreement for a renewable loan of EUR500 million.
“This is the bank’s largest project in our country.
But most importantly, this is the first time such a loan has been provided under an EU guarantee, without a state guarantee from Ukraine,” she commented.
In addition, in April, it was reported that Naftogaz of Ukraine had been granted a EUR270 million loan from the EBRD under a state guarantee to create strategic gas reserves, which Norway supplemented with a EUR139 million grant.
According to the EBRD, the total amount of its financing to Naftogaz of Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war in 2022 has reached EUR1.6 billion.
China increased oil production by 1.3% in January-July compared to the same period last year, to 126.6 million tons, according to the State Statistical Office.
In July alone, production rose by 1.2% to 18.12 million tons.
Oil refining for the seven months totaled 424.68 million tons, up 2.6% from the same period in 2024. In July alone, it rose 8.9% to 63.06 million tons.
Natural gas production in the country in January-July increased by 6% and reached 152.5 billion cubic meters, according to the GSU report. Last month, production rose by 7.4% to 21.6 billion cubic meters.
Ukrgasbank provided Naftogaz of Ukraine with a loan of UAH 4.7 billion for gas purchases, according to the company’s CEO Serhiy Koretsky.
“We are continuing to prepare for winter – another important step has been taken. Naftogaz has signed a loan agreement with Ukrgasbank (UGB) for UAH 4.7 billion. The funds received are already being used to purchase natural gas to build up sufficient reserves in underground gas storage facilities so that the country will be provided with energy resources this winter,” Koretsky wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday.
He expressed his gratitude to the management of Ukrgasbank and the government for their support.
As reported, on July 23, PrivatBank provided Naftogaz with the same loan of UAH 4.7 billion, which was the first for the company and the largest energy loan from the bank since the start of the war.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has published a long-term forecast for the period until 2050, according to which oil and natural gas will remain the main sources of energy, occupying more than half of the global energy balance. This confirms the importance of hydrocarbons in the global economy and the strategic nature of energy policy.
Oil and gas demand forecast
The key drivers are:
Contradictions with other forecasts
This outlook indicates that oil and gas will retain its prominent position for at least the next 25 years. And while renewable energy is rapidly gaining momentum, the transition away from the traditional energy system must be smooth and gradual, taking into account real economic and social factors.
