National joint-stock company Naftogaz Ukrainy early February 2019 plans to present its unbundling plan (unbundling of gas transportation operations of Naftogaz), foreseeing the concession option, for broad consultation, Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolev has told Interfax-Ukraine in Davos.

"The option that we consider the most realistic for us of all now available in relation to parliament's work, politics and everything else is concession. The concession fits into the ISO (Independent System Operator) unbundling model that we need to maintain, including our requirements," he said on the sidelines of the Ukrainian Breakfast organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation.

"In this situation, we, as Naftogaz, as the only company that bears real financial responsibility for the unbundling, are going to follow this scenario," he said.

Kobolev said that theoretically there is still a privatization option that fits into the so-called OU (full ownership unbundling). "Here it will be necessary to transfer the [gas transmission] system into someone else's ownership, which, in my opinion, is unreal in fact," he said.

He said that Naftogaz had already discussed its option of unbundling with the European Commission.

According to him, there are some objective problems, since any plan of a real unbundling, and not its imitation, unbundling that meets the requirements of the Third Energy Package, will require changes in Ukrainian legislation, the mandatory resolution of the issue of how and on what basis the operator will receive the gas transmission system (GTS).

Kobolev said that during the presentation of his scenario, Naftogaz intends to explain what is necessary for its implementation from third parties: first of all, what is needed from the parliament, and why this is correct.

"The only thing I agree with (Director of the Energy Community Secretariat Janez) Kopac in his approach to the issue [unbundling] is that the stakes are very high and unbundling needs to be done right now so that it does not have a negative impact on our ability of lobbying for the halt of Nord Stream 2 in Europe," Kobolev said.