Ukraine Offered Azerbaijan the Its Gas Storage Facilities

A roadmap for energy cooperation has been signed between the countries. Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko announced the signing of a protocol of the intergovernmental commission meeting and a roadmap for further steps in energy cooperation with his Azerbaijani counterpart Parviz Shahbazov. The document was signed on 13 July in Baku, during a meeting of the Ukrainian-Azerbaijani commission on economic cooperation, according to theins.ru. The parties discussed the possibility of supplying Azerbaijani gas to Ukraine and using Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities (UGS) for international storage. Galushchenko emphasized that Ukrainian UGS facilities, which are the largest in Europe, are available to foreign companies under a “customs warehouse” regime without taxes and fees. A meeting between the Ukrainian delegation and Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov also took place in Baku. According to Galushchenko, significant attention was paid during the talks to supporting the development of strategic projects to strengthen energy security. In addition to the gas sector, the parties discussed cooperation in the field of renewable energy. Galushchenko also thanked Azerbaijan for its humanitarian aid to Ukraine’s energy sector. According to him, the amount of such aid amounted to approximately $42 million. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky previously stated that Ukraine is ready to provide its infrastructure for the transit of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, but ruled out the possibility of resuming Russian transit. According to him, he discussed this issue with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Zelensky noted that Azerbaijan’s export potential is about 25 billion cubic meters of gas per year, and Ukraine can quickly connect to the transport if there’s a request from European countries. Against the backdrop of Kyiv’s refusal to extend its contract with Gazprom, which expired in 2024, the European Commission prepared a plan to completely ban imports of Russian gas, both pipeline and LNG, by the end of 2027. According to the draft published by Reuters, a ban on new supplies will come into force in January 2026, and existing contracts will be terminated by 2028.