Natural gas in Ukraine

See also: Russia–Ukraine gas disputes and Natural gas transmission system of Ukraine

Ukraine extracts about 20 billion cubic meters of fossil gas each year, and since 2022 this has almost met demand.[1] Ukraine has been estimated to possess natural gas reserves of over 670 billion cubic meters (in 2022),[2] and in 2018 was ranked 26th among countries with proved reserves of natural gas.[3] In 2021, Ukraine produced 19.8 billion cubic meters (bcm or Gm3) of natural gas. To satisfy domestic demand of 27.3 bcm that year, Ukraine relied on gas imports (2.6 bcm) and withdrawal from underground storage (4.9 bcm). Winter demand can reach 150 mcm per day.[4]

During Soviet times, Ukraine produced a record of 68.7 bcm in 1976. At the time of independence in 1991, production was at 26.6 bcm, and fell in the 1990s to about 18 bcm. Since the mid-2000s, production has stabilised between 20 and 21 bcm.[5] Over 70% of domestic gas production is extracted by UkrGasVydobuvannya,[6] a subsidiary of the state-owned company Naftogaz. Private gas production companies in Ukraine are DTEK, Ukrnaftoburinnya, Burisma, Smart Energy, Poltava Petroleum Company, Geo Alliance Group, and KUB-GAS.[7]

Ukraine stopped buying gas from Russia in November 2015 to reduce gas dependence after the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war,[8] but instead buys it indirectly from traders in Western Europe as part of the Russian gas that transits through Ukraine.[4] The contract to transit Russian gas expires at the end of 2024.[9]

  1. ^ "Ukraine's UGV brings new high-throughput domestic gas well into production".
  2. ^ "The Forgotten Potential of Ukraine's Energy Reserves". Harvard International Review. 2020-10-10. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  3. ^ "Ukraine". CIA World Factbook. 1 January 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Factbox: Ukraine's energy options limited in event of Russian gas disruption". Reuters. 2022-02-24. Retrieved 2022-02-27. Ukraine has not imported gas directly from Russia since 2015, but it buys it from Western traders as part of the Russian gas that goes through Ukrainian territory to Europe. [..] If Russia maintains gas transit through Ukraine and transit gas pipelines remain operational, Ukraine is able to provide the population and industry with gas. [..] In theory, gas could be imported at up to 40 mcm per day, but this is barely feasible due to a lack of freely available resources in Europe and funds to buy it.
  5. ^ Datskevych, Natalia (2020-02-20). "Top 4 reasons Ukraine's gas production is so low". Business. Kyiv Post. Retrieved 2022-04-10. Figure: Ukraine's gas production in 1991-2019, billion cubic meters
  6. ^ http://www.oecd.org/corporate/SOE-Reform-in-the-Hydrocarbons-Sector-in-Ukraine-ENG.pdf , OECD Report on SOE Reform in the Hydrocarbons Sector in Ukraine
  7. ^ http://agpu.org.ua/en/association/section-member_companies/ Archived 2020-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Associations of Gas Producers of Ukraine
  8. ^ "Naftogaz open letter: a year without gas imports from Russia". www.naftogaz.com. Naftogaz. 2016-11-25. Retrieved 2022-04-10. Today is the first anniversary since Naftogaz stopped importing gas from Russia.
  9. ^ "Ukraine plans to end Russian gas transit contract in 2024 – interview for Deutsche Welle | Naftogaz Ukraine". www.naftogaz.com. Retrieved 2023-12-30.