A Licence Without Gas Production Should Return to the State
Comment for The Page on subsoil-use reform: 200–300 "dormant" licences are the industry's main internal problem.
The Industry's Main Internal Problem
Special permits for gas production under which no real work has been carried out for years should automatically return to the state and be put up for auction. The industry's main internal problem is 200–300 "dormant" licences.
The Licence Return Mechanism
"If production has not started within three–five years, the licence automatically goes to auction" – this is the mechanism that, in Oleksandr Katsuba's view, the state will eventually introduce.
Three Areas for Restoring Production
Subsoil-use reform is one of three areas for restoring production, alongside protecting facilities and opening access to technology. Despite strikes on the industry, Ukraine produced almost 17 billion cubic metres of gas in 2025 – 2.4 billion more than forecast – while private production grew by more than 14%.
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Gas Facilities Should Be Protected on a Par With Military Ones
Comment for The Page: since 2025, strikes have shifted from generation to gas infrastructure, and protection must become part of the system itself.
Written by
Oleksandr Katsuba
How to Unfreeze Ukraine's Gas Potential
Expert piece for TSN: why hundreds of promising fields are idle and what needs to change in the rules of the game for production to grow.
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Oleksandr Katsuba
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Energy Independence as a Result of Industrial Decline, Not Production Growth
Comment for UNIAN: Ukraine imports almost no gas not because production has grown, but because chemical and metallurgical plants have stopped.
Written by
Oleksandr Katsuba
Supporting Ukrainian Producers Now Is Common Sense
Comment for VSN: the state should load Ukrainian business with military orders to preserve jobs and return money to the economy.
Written by
Oleksandr Katsuba