Will UkrNafta start working for Ukrainian citizens?

Breaking news comes not only from the front. Although, it depends on how we look at it: the enemy attacks our infrastructure, so the energy sector is also a front. And it is one of the few Ukrainian industries that continue to work and fill the budget. Therefore, everything that happens in the energy sector is of utmost importance.

There is reason to hope that the infamous Ukrnafta will eventually work for Ukraine and the Ukrainians. At least, the government and the Ministry of Energy are making necessary efforts for this. But first we need to explain the previous history.

Ukrnafta is the country’s largest oil-producing company, which also produces natural gas. Before the war, its share in the total production was about 63%. It also has 637 gas stations throughout the country. A tidbit, isn’t it? No wonder that 42% of Ukrnafta belonged to the odious I. Kolomoiskyi. He was not a majority shareholder, but he managed in a strange (absolutely understandable, in fact) way to build relations with the company management so that it acted not in the interests of the state, but in favor of the oligarch.

But in early November 2022, there was a meeting of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, where it was decided to transfer all shares of Ukrnafta to the Ministry of Defense. In fact, this company and several others were nationalized.

But taking an asset from an oligarch is half the battle. The other half is to make that asset work effectively. For all citizens, not for some pockets.

That’s what the government and the Ministry of Energy are doing now. A special resolution has already been passed, which obliges Ukrnafta to supply natural gas for heating utilities and the population at social, i.e., adequate rates. This is the so-called “assignment of special duties” procedure, which operates during wartime.

The resolution was signed/ approved by the government as the customer of the service, the Ministry of Energy as the relevant ministry, and Ukrnafta as the executor. We expect this nationalized executor, headed by S. Koretsky, to conscientiously fulfill what they signed. And if, God forbid, something like sabotage begins with references to oligarchic times, it was not for without reason that the company’s shares were transferred to the Ministry of Defense – there are effective mechanisms of influence there.

Oleksandr Kochetkov

Ukraine Front Lines

Tags: russia ukraine war ukrnafta