Ukrainian gas storage injections hit maximum capacity

For the first time this year, natural gas injections into Ukrainian storage sites have hit their maximum technical capacity of 70 million cubic metres (mcm)/day, the Ukrainian grid operator Ukrtransgaz has announced.

If the maximum pumping capacity is maintained throughout the rest of May, gas held in Ukrainian storage sites is expected to reach 10 billion cubic metres (bcm) by the beginning of June, Igor Prokopiv, president of Ukrtransgaz said.

The country’s facilities, which collectively can hold 31bcm, most recently contained 9.5bcm, Ukrtransgaz data shows.

Traditionally stock levels in Ukraine need to hold 18bcm at the start of the winter, to maintain the integrity of Russian transit flows onward to Europe’s hubs. At the start of last winter, however, Ukrainian sites held only 16.8bcm.

Lower overall European demand does mean the storage level in Ukraine can also be below the 18bcm threshold.

Should the maximum injection rate of 70mcm/day be maintained throughout next month and Q3, a total of 18.5bcm could be in storage by October. This would be almost 10% more than last year.

Ukrtransgaz has been publishing daily stock levels for almost a year.

Based on this data, if the 70mcm/day rate only continued until the end of next month and after that the injection profile decreased throughout Q3 at the same speed as last year, Ukrainian tanks at the start of winter would only hold 13.8bcm. This would be 18% less than one year earlier. marcello.kolax@icis.com