Public Joint Stock Company "Ukrtransgaz" (UTG) purchased 19.6 million cubic meters of imported natural gas at an average price of 29,900 UAH per 1,000 cubic meters excluding VAT during the trading session of the Ukrainian Energy Exchange (UEB) on February 13.
According to the exchange bulletin, the company acquired gas with a delivery period from March 1 to April 15, 2025, for storage in underground gas storage facilities (UGSF).
It was reported that on February 12, UTG's volume of imported gas purchases at the UEB reached 25.6 million cubic meters at a price of 32,300 UAH per 1,000 cubic meters.
In the opinion of the former head of the Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine (GTSOU), Sergey Makogon, UTG continues to spend its own funds on actively purchasing imported gas, which is not needed by the company itself.
"Why does UTG need gas? It doesn’t supply it to anyone and doesn’t even have the right to resell it. UTG only needs gas for its own expenses, but it has already purchased over 120 million cubic meters recently, so it definitely does not need these new 19.6 million cubic meters right now, and it could have waited until April to buy it much cheaper," - wrote Makogon on Facebook on Friday.
According to his calculations, in the recent gas purchases at the UEB on February 12-13, UTG may have overpaid up to $15.6 million.
"But the group 'Naftogaz' - its parent company - needs to be supported. By the way, this is why it is finally necessary to separate the UGS operator from 'Naftogaz' so that it does not use UTG to solve its problems," - believes the former head of GTSOU.
It was reported, citing former GTSOU head Sergey Makogon, that earlier the 'Naftogaz' group urgently purchased about 150 million cubic meters of gas in the EU for February from foreign traders at a price of 28,000 UAH per 1,000 cubic meters (excluding VAT).
Meanwhile, former Energy Minister Olga Buslavets noted at the end of January on Facebook that to cover the natural gas deficit, Ukraine would need to import 2-3 billion cubic meters in 2025.
At the same time, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko stated in a blitz interview with Interfax-Ukraine that Ukraine would require at least 1 billion cubic meters of gas imports by the end of 2025.
Public Joint Stock Company "Ukrtransgaz" is part of the 'Naftogaz' group and serves as an independent operator of gas storage facilities in Ukraine.