Exclusive-Naftogaz chief says Ukraine's gas reserves hit six-year high ahead of winter

By Pavel Polityuk

KYIV, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Ukrainian state oil and gas firm Naftogaz's acting CEO said the company has built its largest gas reserves in six years ahead of winter, despite a jump in Russian strikes on the company's facilities.

Ukraine uses vast volumes of gas to heat its cities during the winter months, and the current season could be the most difficult of the nearly five-year war with Russia, which has sharply intensified its attacks on Ukraine's energy sector.

The attacks also put at risk the colossal Soviet-era power stations which Ukrainian cities rely on for winter heat.

Naftogaz CEO Sergii Fedorenko told Reuters Russia had attacked Naftogaz assets more than 400 times so far this year, twice as many times as in 2025.

"This year, most of our facilities have come under attack," Fedorenko said, adding that oil and gas production, processing and transportation facilities, as well as thermal power plants in frontline regions, have been hit.

"We are strengthening defences and digging in," he said.

RESERVES AT 16 BILLION CUBIC METRES, NAFTOGAZ SAYS

Fedorenko said Naftogaz had managed to bring the volume of reserves in underground storage facilities to 16 billion cubic metres, the highest since 2020.

Ukraine began the previous heating season with reserves of less than 14 bcm. The government has said the country needed at least 13.2 bcm of gas in reserve to get through the winter.

The rise in reserves comes as consumption has fallen this year, largely because Russian strikes on industrial infrastructure have already forced the shutdown of some factories.

Fedorenko estimates that gas consumption in 2026 will fall to about 20 bcm from 21 bcm in 2025. He said it is difficult to make predictions during a war, when everything can change at any moment.

"By the start of the heating season, we keep restoring and restoring our destroyed production," he said. "We look forward with caution. Every morning I wake up and check my phone to see if any of our facilities were hit overnight."

Ukrainian legislation prohibits state-owned companies from disclosing data on the results of their operations in the energy sector.

COLD WEATHER, RUSSIAN STRIKES DROVE IMPORTS TO A RECORD

Ukraine is a net gas importer. Since 2015 it has stopped buying Russian gas directly, instead importing from European suppliers, primarily via Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary.

Heavy frosts and Russian strikes on underground storage facilities forced Naftogaz to import a record 7.8 bcm of gas in 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, Fedorenko said. This season, it started buying gas early and has so far contracted more than 1 bcm of imports, 25% of which is LNG.

"We contracted supplies specifically for the heating season, meaning we have contracts for delivery during a defined period — December through March," Fedorenko said.

Ukraine operates Europe's largest underground gas storage facilities, with capacity of about 30 bcm, and Fedorenko said Kyiv has proposed that the EU store part of its gas reserves there, allocating one-third of the capacity for that purpose.

Located more than 1 km underground, the gas is protected from attacks and can, if needed, be delivered very quickly to consumers, particularly in Eastern European countries, Fedorenko said. He said the Ukrainian gas storage tariff is currently the lowest in the EU.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Jan Harvey)