Frosty February: almost 3 bcm of gas were taken from Ukrainian UGS. This is 2.5 times more than last year
The Storage System Operator of Ukraine begins the spring of 2021 with record gas reserves in the underground storage facilities. As of March 1, more than 18* bcm of gas are stored in gas storage facilities - the highest level of filling for the past ten years.
At the same time, gas extraction in February also became the highest in the previous eight years, reaching 2.9 bcm. For 16 days in a row, from February 6 to 21, more than 100 million cubic meters were extracted from gas storage facilities every day.
Gas withdrawal from UGS
Since the beginning of the heating season, 10.23 bcm of gas have been extracted from storage facilities (according to operative data). In particular, in February 2021, 2.9 bcm were extracted from Ukrainian UGS, which is two and a half times more than in the same period in 2020.
Use of «Customs warehouse» ** and «short haul» *** services
As of March 1, 2021, foreign traders store 5.6 bcm of gas in the Customs Warehouse regime. This is 6.3 times more than in the same period last year. This includes 4.1 bcm accumulated in the "short-haul" regime.
Resident companies store 0.55 bcm in the Customs Warehouse regime, which is 2.9% less than in 2020. This includes 0.48 bcm accumulated in the "short-haul" regime.
Natural gas reserve in UGS
As of March 1, 2021, the reserve of natural gas in UGS is 18.03* bcm. This is 13% higher comparing to the previous year.
«This year, the last month of winter was one of the most active periods in terms of natural gas extraction. In particular, non-residents play an active role in the Ukrainian gas market. They not only export gas but also carry out transactions for the purchase and sale of gas in UGS in the Customs Warehouse regime, as well as sell their reserves to residents. High interest in our UGS from foreign players proves that we have chosen the right strategy of interaction with non-resident customers», – 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.