2021-11-18T14:48:00+02:00 Politics 2024-04-15T06:12:08+03:00

Ukrainian news

Ukrainian news

Ukraine Proposes To Europe To Create International Gas Fund On The Basis Of Ukrainian USF

Ukraine Proposes To Europe To Create International Gas Fund On The Basis Of Ukrainian USF

Ukraine has proposed to Europe to create the International Gas Fund on the basis of Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities (USF).

The Energy and Environmental Protection Ministry said this in a statement, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

It is noted that Ukraine has proposed the concept of a Regional Energy Security Partnership (RESP).

It envisages, in the short term, the provision of additional gas flows to the Baumgarten area this winter along the Ukrainian route.

According to the report, the medium-term component provides for the creation of a joint International Gas Fund: a gas reserve should be formed, which will be stored in the Ukrainian USF, and the fund's participants will have access to the gas reserve in crisis situations.

In the long term, commercially attractive conditions will be developed for the delivery of gas from additional sources to the Baumgarten area, in particular for reserve gas storage facilities.

“We have offered to provide additional gas flows to Europe. In addition, we are ready to provide a discount on the tariffs of our gas transmission system (GTS) operator. And we are sure that this is one of the most effective methods to overcome the energy crisis and gas shortages in European storage facilities. However, this is not about finances, but about the security of gas supplies and Ukraine's readiness to provide it," the statement says.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in the period from November 6 to November 13, natural gas reserves in the USF fell by 2.5% or 440 million cubic meters to 17.46 billion cubic meters.

The said amount of natural gas is down 37% or 10,270 million cubic meters year over year (27.73 billion cubic meters).

Since the start of the heating season on October 5, the USF gas reserves have fallen by 7.4% or 1.4 billion cubic meters.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal states that the natural gas reserves in underground storage facilities are sufficient for heating and technological needs in the heating season of 2021/2022.

At the same time, Deputy Energy Minister Maksym Nemchynov noted that in the case of a shortage of natural gas, there is an opportunity to import it at the reserved, guaranteed capacities from Slovakia.

At the beginning of October, Ukraine suspended injection of natural gas into its USF having accumulated 18.864 billion cubic meters, and on October 5, it started the withdrawal of the natural gas.

The Energy and Environmental Protection Ministry had had plans to accumulate 19.2 billion cubic meters before the current heating season.

On April 30, Ukraine exited the 2020/2021 heating season with reserves of 15.279 billion cubic meters of natural gas in underground storages, which is by 3.4% less than in 2020.