STATE OIL AND GAS POLICY IN THE CONTEXT OF UKRAINE’S NATIONAL SECURITY

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to identify and characterize the potential risks and threats to the implementation of state policy in the oil and gas sector, given ensuring the national security of Ukraine. The study analyzes the nature of the development of legal relations in the oil and gas sector in the context of identifying potential threats to national security. The reasons for changes in state policy in the oil and gas sector, depending on foreign policy challenges, have been identified. Promising reforming such an approach given the development of globalization processes and implementing the Russian Federation's quasi-civilization project is highlighted. It is determined that the state policy of Ukraine in the oil and gas sector depends on the position of powerful subjects of international politics, the realization of whose geopolitical interests can significantly adjust the actions of domestic authorities. An analysis of the leading countries of the EU and the Russian Federation suggests that in certain circumstances, economic interests may prevail over the declared political slogans. The termination of European countries' contracts with Russia's Gazprom using the take-or-pay formula may affect these countries' management in the amount of fuel supplied to Ukraine in reverse. The future abandonment of the take-or-pay procedure, which has created difficulties in paying for gas under long-term contracts, may reduce European partners' interest in reverse gas supplies to Ukraine. Therefore, reverse gas supply to Ukraine can be considered a tactical measure. In the long run, it is essential to focus on the use of alternative energy sources and the development of our gas deposits, including shale gas production. The state's national security interests also require a significant reduction in bylaws to determine legal relations in the oil and gas sector. Such a reduction may be dictated by the growing dependence of government decisions on the political situation, the interests of large financial and industrial groups and individual politicians. And the priority of such claims over the parts of statebuilding can cause large-scale negative consequences for Ukraine.