The full-scale invasion of Russia of Ukraine radically changed the life of Olesia Zamkovа, the head of the testing laboratory of the Kharkiv Main Gas Pipeline Linear Production Divisions (MPLPD) of the Operator of the Gas Transport System of Ukraine (OGTSU). Part of the Kharkiv region was occupied, including the industrial site of the Borovа compressor station of Kharkiv MPLPD. Later, these territories were liberated by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
After the deoccupation, in November 2022, as soon as OGTSU was able to resume work on natural gas quality control in the gas transportation system of the region, Olesia Zamkova started visiting the production facilities of Kharkiv MPLPD and gas production enterprises located in the east of Kharkiv region. Despite the enemy shelling, unexploded clusters, the danger of military aircraft raids, and the movement of enemy military units, Olesia continued to perform her work, which required trips to fields and gas distribution stations located near the border with the Russian Federation and in the active combat zones. The protective equipment (helmet and safety vest) provided to OGTSU by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Energy Security Project allowed her and other energy workers to feel more confident while performing this dangerous work.
The work conducted by gas transportation system laboratories includes monitoring the quality of natural gas. More than 50 chemical laboratories of OGTSU monitor the quality of gas in different regions of Ukraine and use over 70 different devices (chromatographs, moisture meters, etc.) to do that, constantly monitoring the parameters of natural gas. Every month, the data on gas quality is shared with gas distribution operators. The efficiency of transporting gas also depends on the quality of natural gas.
Olesia Zamkova grew up in a family of gas engineers. After graduating from school, she entered the Yuriy Fedkovich Chernivtsi National University, where she received a diploma in chemistry. Therefore, it is unsurprising that she chose a profession in the gas sector.
When the war started in Ukraine, she didn’t even think of leaving the country: “I love my job, and I understand my role as an important part of the Ukrainian gas transportation system. You cannot relax due to new daily challenges. But, you can overcome these challenges with the help colleagues who survived the occupation, further strengthening Ukraine’s desire for victory and faith in it.”