Ukraine cuts gas stocks at underground storage facilities by 1.3 bcm since start of heating season

Ukraine since the start of the 2015/16 heating season cut natural gas stocks in its underground storage facilities by 7.3% or 1.252 billion cubic meters (bcm).

Public joint-stock company Ukrtransgaz reported that as of October 29, 2015, 17.064 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas was located in underground storage facilities, and as of December 5, 2015, gas stocks reached 15.813 bcm, which is 18% more than as of December 5, 2011 (13.403 bcm).

The company said that on December 5, 2015, 70.41 million cubic meters (mcm) a day was pumped from the underground storage facilities, and on December 5, 2014 – 123.58 mcm day.

According to tentative data from the gas transport system operators, Slovak gas imports on December 5 totaled 8.54 mcm and Hungarian 0.47 mcm. No gas was imported from Poland and Russia on December 5.

Thanks to the approval of the new regulations of Naftogaz Ukrainy on December 4, 2015, it is expected that the EBRD will provide $300 million to Naftogaz Ukrainy to buy gas.