Oleksiy Chernyshov: We aim to increase the gas volumes stored by French companies in Ukraine's UGS

The head of Naftogaz conducted negotiations with:

• the management of French energy companies TotalEnergies and ENGIE;
• Roland Lescure, Minister Delegate for Industry and Energy of France;
• Fatih Birol, Executive Director, International Energy Agency;
• Victoire Vandeville and Bertrand Buchwalter, advisors to the President of France; 
• Pierre Heilbronn, Special Envoy of the President of France for Ukraine's Relief and Reconstruction.

"We aim to increase the volumes of gas that French companies store in Ukraine's UGS. This will be beneficial for all parties. As the past winter has shown, it is not only extremely promising from a business standpoint, but also important for regional security and energy stability," Chernyshov said.

He noted that 80% of Ukraine's underground storage facilities are located in western Ukraine, far from the front line. Numerous measures have been taken to ensure their protection from potential attacks and war-related damage.

Independent technical expertise has also confirmed the operational reliability of Ukraine's UGS, even under conditions of enemy attack on Ukraine's gas infrastructure.

In February 2024, The Economist published an article stating that in 2023, European traders managed to earn approximately $320 million as a result of storing gas in Ukraine's UGS.