In October, the filling level of Ukrainian UGS reached 28.3 bcm, which will be a stabilizing factor in the heating season
The Storage System Operator of Ukraine completed the injection season on October 20, 2020. Ukraine’s UGS has a record gas reserve for the last 10 years – 28.3 bcm*. Gas storages are now successively completing the neutral period and moving to the withdrawal mode.
At the end of injection season domestic companies save 18.3 bcm. This is all that Ukraine needs to complete the heating season without interruption. Over the last five years, Ukrainian companies have withdrawn from UGS 7.6 to 12.1 bcm for year.
Gas injection
For 10 months of the current year the volume of natural gas injected into the UGS of Ukraine is 16.8 bcm. This is 5% less than in 2019.
Of these, residents injected 8.3 bcm of gas. This is 53% less than in last year. With the reduction of gas volumes in storages by Ukrainian companies, domestic gas storage facilities are being actively filled by non-residents. Since the beginning of 2020, they have been injected into UGS 8.5 bcm of gas, which is 4.2 times more than the last year.
Use of services «Customs warehouse»** and «short haul»****
As of 01.11.2020 foreign traders save in «Customs warehouse» regime 10 bcm of gas. This is 4 times more than in the same period of the previous year. Of these, 5.8 bcm was accumulated in «short haul» regime.
The residents store in «Customs warehouse» regime 1.2 bcm, which is 3.7 times less than in 2019. Of these, the volume of gas transferred to UGS in «short haul» regime is 0.3 bcm.
Gas withdrawal
Due to the relatively warm October in Ukraine, the rate of gas extraction from UGS was low. In the last decade of October, 0.2 bcm of gas were withdrawn from gas storage facilities.
Natural gas reserve in UGS
As of 01.11.2020, the reserve of natural gas in underground storage facilities is 28.1 * bcm of gas. That is 30% more than the last year.
“We have completed the injection season 2020, reaching 28.3 bcm of gas. This is the highest level for last decade. For the first time in the history of our gas storages a significant contribution of 10 bcm was made by non-residents. What factors primarily influenced for this result? The first is the favorable conditions in the EU market and the lack of storage capacities in Europe. The second is competitive conditions for non-resident companies: tariffs for gas storage in Ukraine are at least one half as high as in neighboring countries. Also “last but not the least” system reforms in the gas market of Europe and in particular unbundling of TSO Operator of Ukraine. This is significantly increased confidence to Ukraine from European partners”, - noted noted Sergiy Pereloma, acting general director of Ukrtransgaz JSC.
* not including the reserves of Vergunske UGS, located on temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk region;
** «Customs warehouse» is a custom regime, which allows the client to save natural gas in storage facilities of Ukraine up to 1095 days without paying taxes and customs duties;
*** «Short haul» is a service that gives the opportunity to receive a discount on transportation between certain points of entry or exit on inter-state connections (power with restrictions), including for further storage of natural gas in Ukrainian UGS.