A draft law legislating minimum oil and petroleum product reserves has passed in Ukraine’s unicameral chamber Verkhovna Rada in the first reading, Ukrainian Energy Ministry reported on Thursday (12 October).
The draft law proposes minimum oil and petroleum product reserves to be stored in the form of emergency and special reserves, which cannot be used for commercial purposes but only in circumstances related to local or global crises.
“The basis of energy independence and security is the availability of fuel resources in each country, taking into account, in particular, the balance of consumption. The Directive on the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is an effective mechanism for preventing and overcoming possible crisis situations. The national and European markets of oil products are very interconnected, and an emergency situation on the fuel market in one country can cause crisis phenomena in others,” said Ukraine’s Deputy Energy Minister Mykola Kolisnyk.
Separately, the CEO of Ukrainian state-owned energy company Naftogaz Oleksiy Chernyshov said on Thursday that further intensive energy market reforms are needed to boost the efficiency of the country’s energy market.
“Ukraine’s economic development directly depends on the growth of our energy sector. As we reform the energy sector, the economy will improve. The gas transportation system, underground gas storage facilities, and the third-largest gas reserves in Europe are all assets that strengthen our position. However, we must reform the industry in order to reach our true potential. This must be done now, without waiting for the end of the war,” said Mr Chernyshov.
