Naftogaz ready to buy all gas offered by Ukrainian producers this year
MOSCOW. April 15 (Interfax) - Naftogaz Group stands ready to buy out the entire volume of gas that Ukrainian private producers will offer to the market in 2024, Naftogaz CEO Alexei Chernyshov said.
"We understand that production needs investment. Therefore, you need to sell your resource at a competitive price. We stand ready to buy it back," Ukrainian media quoted Chernyshov as saying in a statement by Naftogaz following a meeting with representatives of Ukrainian gas producers in Kiev last Friday.
During the crisis, it is vital for Ukraine to maintain energy independence and increase its own production, and Naftogaz is doing its utmost for this purpose, in particular, it managed to substantially increase production last year, he said.
"But the overall result depends on all companies currently operating in Ukraine," Chernyshov said.
He noted that, as in the past year, the company is planning to do everything transparently via the mechanisms of the Ukrainian Energy Exchange.
Along with the 2024 cooperation plans, there are also conditions that the state should create to support Ukrainian production, in particular, the timely and transparent obtaining of special permits for production and other procedural aspects, the statement said.
"What is happening today with Ukrnaftoburinnia is a very adverse factor for the Ukrainian energy sector. Due to this, the country loses annually about half a billion cubic meters of gas, which could make us stronger and more sustainable amid the crisis," Chernyshov said.
As reported, Naftogaz Group purchased approximately one billion cubic meters of gas from Ukrainian private producers through the Ukrainian Energy Exchange in 2023.
On November 28, 2023, the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeals overturned the State Geological Survey's order and revoked the special permit dated July 10, 2019, under which Ukrnaftoburinnia was producing gas at the Sakhalin field. The company halted the field's operations on December 1, 2023. At the same time, the Supreme Court, by its ruling of December 12, 2023, denied the proceedings on an appeal filed by the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA), and declined a cassation appeal filed by Ukrnaftoburinnia.
Ukraine loses UAH 190 million of rent, UAH 130 million of VAT and around UAH 80 million of income tax every month from the halt on natural gas production at the Sakhalin field, it said.
Ukrnaftoburinnia is one of the largest private gas producing companies in Ukraine. Since 2010, it has been developing the Sakhalin field (Krasnokutsk district, Kharkov region) with reserves of 15 billion cubic meters of gas. The company's gross production in 2021 amounted to 691.3 million cubic meters of gas and 76,600 tonnes of oil and condensate.