EU wants Ukraine to store 20 bcm gas by winter

The European Union would like to see Ukraine boost gas in underground storage to 20 billion cubic meters by the winter, Gunther Oettinger, the European energy commissioner, told a briefing in Brussels.

The European Commission has urged energy companies to buy gas and pump it into Ukrainian underground storage facilities. Russia's Gazprom thinks this is impractical as it could disrupt transit.

Ukraine has 13 underground storage facilities with active storage capacity of around 32 billion cubic meters.

Naftogaz Ukrainy has said Ukraine is pumping 20 million-34 million cu m of gas a day from gas bought in Europe into storage.