Ukraine to become a major gas exporter by 2027, Naftogaz CEO says

Ukraine could become a major exporter of natural gas in the next few years, Oleksiy Chernyshov, CEO of Naftogaz, Ukraine’s state energy firm, believes.

In an interview with NV, Mr Chernyshov pointed out Ukraine ranks second in Europe in terms of proven gas reserves and "must finally start using this potential".

"Russian energy resources have destroyed peace in Europe. Ukrainian ones are capable of returning security to the continent," he said.

"We have an ambition to become one of the main energy suppliers for the continent after the war. I believe that by 2027, we will be fully capable of increasing gas production to the extent that we can not only cover our own needs but also be a significant exporter to the EU."

According to CEO Naftogaz, Ukrgasvydobuvannya, a member of the Naftogaz Group, has this year already commissioned seven wells with high gas production rates of more than 100,000 cubic metres per day, with a total production of 1.5 million cubic metres of gas per day.

Six of them are new, and another one has been workovered.

Naftogaz plans to use new technological and engineering solutions to increase production from existing fields and wells, such as horizontal drilling technologies, Mr Chernyshov added.

"To implement them, we are currently negotiating with Halliburton, as well as other major US service and production companies."