3. Consorcium

Undertaking and thus creating the prerequisites for attracting a foreign partner is one of the main tasks of the Naftogaz Group for the near term. After all, the participation of a powerful foreign player in the management of the Ukrainian GTS should become a significant lever in maintaining the volume of Russian gas transit to the EU over the territory of Ukraine.

 

Moreover, the future of the Operator and the gas market of Ukraine, in general, much more reliable in case of involvement of a powerful Western partner or a consortium of foreign companies. This would significantly increase the transparency of the Operator's activity and the overall attractiveness of Ukraine for the players of the European gas market. Besides, it will create a barrier against the possible unlawful influence of politicians and individual Ukrainian financial or industrial groups.

 

Negotiations with European players considering the possibility of participating in the management of the Ukrainian GTS have been going on for the last several years. And in the spring of 2019, cooperation between European and Ukrainian GTS operators was formalized.

 

In April 2019, Naftogaz of Ukraine and Ukrtransgaz signed an agreement to create a joint working group with five leading European operators. Thus, a consortium of EU gas companies was formed, whose members confirmed that they support the unbundling process and are interested in managing Ukraine's GTS after its completion.

 

The working group includes GRTgaz S.A. (France), NV Nederlandse Gasunie (Netherlands), Snam S.p.A. (Italy), Eustream a.s. (Slovakia) and Fluxys S.A. (Belgium).

 

These companies committed to helping the Ukrainian side to create an independent GTS operator in line with European best practices. As part of this collaboration, they have delegated five experts that would assist in the development of management processes and technical regulations of the Operator, ensuring the technical reliability and efficiency of the Ukrainian GTS. Experts are also assisting in the certification of the new GTS operator by the NEURC and the Energy Community Secretariat.

 

Thus, along with the experts of the Naftogaz Group and PwC, five advisors representing the EU Gas Consortium are working on the Operator's construction:

  • Yves Brulle, representative of GRTgaz– Advisor on Network Development and Investment Planning. Previously, Senior Strategy Analyst at GRTgaz (France).
  • Willem Coppoolse, representative of Gasunie– Commercial Advisor.
  • Vincenzo Mauro Cannizzo, representative of Snam– Adviser on Gas Metering and Metrology.
  • Andrea Rovelli, representative of Snam – Advisor on network exploitation, environmental safety and labor.
  • Michal Lalik, representative of Eustream – Advisor on regulatory affairs