Naftogaz of Ukraine ready to purchase all gas offered by private companies in 2024 if ban on its export extended - CEO
MOSCOW. Nov 13 (Interfax) - Naftogaz of Ukraine will be able to purchase the entire volume of gas offered by the private gas producers next year if the ban on its export is extended, Naftogaz Group CEO Alexei Chernyshov said.
"The company stands ready to purchase the entire volume of gas offered by the private sector. We will be ready to buy it, because it is important for us to support the companies and their liquidity, so that the Ukrainian production is not diminished in any case. I am confident that we will cope with this, as we did this year by buying between 700 million and 800 million cubic meters of gas," Chernyshov said in a statement to the Ukrainian media.
At the same time, he noted that he was referring to the volume of gas that "the private companies will not sell to the economy." "Perhaps, they will sell the entire volume and our participation will not be required, but now we realize that so far the economy will be unable to consume this entire volume. Although I hope that consumption will increase, because it has already been growing," Chernyshov added.
Naftogaz is in constant dialogue with the entire industry involved in extracting natural gas in Ukraine and is interested in ensuring that the private companies will be more motivated to increase their output, Chernyshov also said.
"In this respect, with a potential ban on export to be extended, private producers should be given an answer on how to continue operating in economic terms," he said.
"During the crisis, these are such unpopular steps to ensure the stability of energy supply. We cannot allow it to be halted for now. But the Ukrainian Energy Exchange has finally started operating at full capacity, and the private sector should be given the possibility to sell this product," Chernyshov said, when asked whether the prospect of extending the gas export ban next year, in his view, is still possible.
As reported, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky initiated the extension of the ban on the export of Ukrainian natural gas in 2024, and the corresponding instruction to the government is stipulated in his decree of November 7, 2023.
The government should take measures within six months to resolve legally the issue of setting a zero quota for exports of Ukrainian gas in 2024.
In 2023, Naftogaz first traded at the Ukrainian Energy Exchange on April 26. At that time, the company said it was ready to purchase 6 million cubic meters of gas at the starting price of UAH 10.972 per 1,000 cubic meters (excluding VAT) and 6 million cubic meters at the starting price of UAH 10.791 per 1,000 cubic meters (excluding VAT), depending on the terms of post-payment.
This is an important measure to support private companies under the export ban, Executive Director of the Association of Gas Producers Artem Petrenko said at the time. As of May 2023, 1.75 bcm of private producers' gas is stored in Ukraine's underground gas storage facilities, he said. The gas consumption by manufacturing industries, which are the main clients of private companies, is expected to reach 4.3 bcm by the end of 2023, which is 0.2 bcm less than last year and almost two times lower than in 2021 (8.5 bcm), Petrenko said in a forecast.
