The third Ukrainian Gas Forum titled The Kind of Market We Have Created has been hosted in Kyiv.

Key highlights of the Forum:

Head of Mission of the Delegation of the European Union in Ukraine, Hugues Mingarelli: ""The fate of Ukraine as a gas transit country depends on Ukraine. If you get the European industry representatives involved in the development of the market, you will forget about North Stream-2, then you will keep Ukraine as the largest transit route to Europe." 
Igor Prokopiv, the Deputy Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine, in his speech stated: "The Ministry supports the amendments proposed by the gas production market. We are swiftly adopting the bill on deregulation of the industry 3096-d and also the resolution №570 on the holding of auctions, which will determine the market. 
The issue of a 12% stimulating royalty rate is a step that will increase investments on the market of gas production. The Minister has signed the letter to Oleksandr Danyliuk, the Minister of Finance, and Volodymyr Groysman, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, to include this initiative in the budget for year 2018. The Ministry will act as the driver for these changes."

While opening the second part of the Forum, titled Is The Real Self-Sufficiency Of Providing Ukraine With Its Own Natural Gas In 2020, Roman Opimakh informed the participants that the 9-month growth of production in Ukraine is 3.5% instead of 18%, which was set in the Concept of gas extraction industry development by 2020. Today, the Government and the Ministry support the initiatives that the industry has been waiting for for many years, including deregulation (bill 3096-d), fiscal stimuli, and access to geological information. By the end of the year, there is a great hope that these legislative initiatives will be approved."

What are the growth factors for DTEK Oil&Gas' production in 2017? Can Ukraine become self-sufficient in 2020? Will extraction be increased? These are the topics Natalya Hrebenyuk raised in her speech.

"According to the results for 9 months, DTEK Naftogaz has increased its production by 7% compared to the last year. First of all, the company has changed the approach to drilling wells, implemented the practice of involving international contractors, production has been enhanced, and the ground infrastructure was updated. Currently, the Machukhske Gas Production Unit is the most advanced in Ukraine. Next year, the company is planning to build compressor stations. Today, the company is negotiating with the major companies for drilling very complex ultradeep wells."

Natalya Hrebenyuk stated that there are economic, administrative, and technological drivers of the increase in extraction in Ukraine, which include the motivation for investors in the tax field (12% royalty for new wells), elimination of bureaucracy (bill 3096-d), access to geological information and auctions, expansion of service and drilling market players in Ukraine."