Who initiated the partial export of gas?

The statement about the possibility of considering the partial export of privately extracted gas was made by People's Deputy Sergei Nagornyak, Head of the Subcommittee on Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency of the Verkhovna Rada.

Why do private companies want to export gas?

According to Nagornyak, private producers indicate that the price of gas in Ukraine is lower than in the EU, and they would like to partially sell the resource in Europe to remain profitable and pay more taxes to the budget.

What is the alternative to export?

Nagornyak did not rule out an option where the government and Naftogaz would agree with private companies on the price for buying gas for pumping into Ukrainian underground storage facilities.

How much gas is accumulated in Ukraine's storage facilities?

In the second half of July, there were about 13 billion cubic meters of gas in underground storage facilities — more than 40% more than a year earlier; by the beginning of November, according to government estimates, the volume may exceed 15 billion cubic meters.

Ukraine May Consider Partial Export of Privately Extracted Gas

Sergei Nagornyak, a People's Deputy and Head of the Subcommittee on Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency of the Verkhovna Rada, stated that Ukraine may consider the partial export of privately extracted natural gas. According to him, any such decision must take into account the interests of the domestic market and the need for extraction companies to maintain the economic profitability of production. The statement came against the backdrop of regular appeals by private gas producers to the government to lift restrictions on selling the resource abroad.

Domestic Market and Private Interests

Nagornyak distinguished between two categories of producers. State-owned Ukrgasvydobuvannya, he said, primarily serves the domestic market: the extracted gas is pumped into underground storage facilities and used for the needs of the population and district heating systems. Private companies operate under a different logic, selling resources on the commercial market and interested in the possibility of exporting part of it to Europe, where prices are higher. "There are private companies, a number of private companies, not just one… smaller ones, which understand that the price in Ukraine is lower there, and they would like to partially sell their gas to the European Union," the deputy explained.

Arguments for Export and Alternative Scenario

The deputy noted that since the introduction of the export ban, private producers have regularly raised this issue with the government, as they want the opportunity to earn profits and pay more taxes to the budget. "We cannot work at a loss; we want to earn something and pay taxes to the state budget," he conveyed the companies' position. Comparing the situation to the export of defense industry products, Nagornyak emphasized that for the industry to develop, companies need the ability to sell part of their production outside the country. At the same time, he did not rule out an alternative option: the government and Naftogaz could agree with private companies on a price at which the resource would be purchased for pumping into Ukrainian storage facilities.

Gas Reserves and Heating Season

The context for the discussion is data on storage filling. In the second half of July, about 13 billion cubic meters of gas were accumulated in Ukrainian underground storage facilities — more than 40% more than a year earlier. According to government estimates, by the beginning of November, the volume may exceed 15 billion cubic meters, which should be sufficient to get through the heating season. These figures form an argument in favor of the fact that the domestic market is supplied with resources for the upcoming season.

Contradictory Data

Two not entirely consistent positions coexist in the public discourse. On the one hand, private producers and Artem Petrenko, Executive Director of the Association of Gas Extraction Companies of Ukraine, insist that controlled export of part of the gas will give the industry additional funds to restore damaged capacities, drill new wells, and increase their own production. On the other hand, the emphasis on high reserves in storage facilities (13–15 billion cubic meters) and the priority of the domestic market indicates that the need for export is not critical in the current heating season. Thus, the issue boils down not to a gas deficit, but to a choice between the investment profitability of private companies and the strategy of stockpiling reserves.

Context: 2022 Ban and Association Calculations

It should be recalled that the Cabinet of Ministers introduced zero quotas on the export of natural gas of Ukrainian origin at the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. It was the Association of Gas Extraction Companies of Ukraine, which includes both the state-owned Ukrgasvydobuvannya and private companies, that presented calculations to the government on the possible resumption of gas exports. Nagornyak's initiative and the industry's appeals, therefore, underscore that the topic of partial export remains an open issue for negotiations between the state and the private sector.

Ukraine May Consider Partial Export of Privately Extracted Gas — Nagornyak