Page 82 - UKRRptFeb24

9.0 Industry & Sectors 9.1 Sector news
9.1.1 Oil & gas sector news
Fico wants Russian gas to flow through Ukraine after 2024, but Ukraine dashed these hopes. Slovakia is discussing with Ukraine the continuation of Russian gas transit after the end of the current contract, which expires at the end of 2024, the country's Prime Minister Robert Fico said.
"An agreement has been reached that the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine will probably continue, and this is great news," a Slovakian politician said. In return, the Ukrainian government stated: "The position of the Ukrainian side is clear: the transportation contract ends at the end of this year, we will not negotiate with the Russians to extend the contract, as the Prime Minister of Ukraine informed his Slovak colleague."
However, as Bloomberg writes, even without a new deal, there is the possibility that Gazprom will maintain supply to willing EU buyers by booking short-term capacity in Ukraine, an option the Russian company can use via capacity auctions.
Ukraine goes through winter using only its own gas for the first time. "We currently have about 10bn cubic metres of gas in our storage facilities. And we are going through this heating season using exclusively Ukrainian-produced gas," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
For the first time in 20 years, Ukraine extracted more than onebn cubic metres of gas from new wells in 2023. State gas mining company UkrGasVydobuvannya produced more than abn cubic metres of gas from new wells that were put into operation in 2023.
Ukraine’s state-owned oil and gas company Ukrnafta extracted 1.41mn tonnes of oil and 1.09bn cubic metres of natural gas in 2023, the company reported on January 15.
The figures represent a 3% annual increase in oil extraction and a 6% rise in gas production—compared to 1.37mn tonnes of oil and 1.037bn cubic metres of gas Ukrnafta produced in 2022.
Ukrnafta extended its search for partners to jointly develop oil and gas fields until March 1, 2024. As of late December 2023, 25 companies have expressed interest, including those from seven European countries and North America.
For 2024, Ukrnafta plans to drill new wells, invite partners to invest in its fields, and replace old Soviet-made and Russian equipment with modern machinery, the company added.
In another first, Naftogaz subsidiary UkrGasVydobuvannya produced over 1bn cubic metres of natural gas this year from new wells.
82 UKRAINE Country Report February 2024 www.intellinews.com