Page 64 - UKRRptOct20

September, in a 5,000-word article, Time.com and WNYC-ProPublica reported the Perry probe. Olga Buslavets, Ukraine’s acting energy minister, told reporters of the Louisiana deal: “Indeed, there was a refusal [of cooperation].”
Well prepared for the winter heating season, Naftogaz has stored 25.6bcm of its own gas, 39% more than this time last year. ​By the Nov. 1 start of the heating season, Naftogaz may have a record 28bcm in storage, 29% more than last year, Nafotgaz CEO Andriy Kobolev said Tuesday on Ukraina 24 TV. In last winter’s 4-month heating season, Ukraine consumed only 6bcm.
A major pipeline carrying gas from fields in Ukraine’s gas-to-storage facilities in the western part of country was rocked by an explosion ​just after midnight on September 15, authorities have said. The affected section was shut down to prevent further gas losses. The country’s gas transmission system operator GTSOU said there was no impact on Russian gas transit to Ukraine.
As part of this newly liberalized market, 72 traders – a mix of European and Ukrainian companies – parked a total of 8.2bcm of gas in Ukrainian reservoirs​ this summer, waiting for the annual rise in prices in the fall. With 65% of gas coming into western Ukraine this summer going into storage for further transit, Serhiy Makogon, general director of Ukraine’s Gas Transit System Operator, said: “This means that Ukraine is geopolitically and economically an interesting and profitable partner for Europe. Therefore, the GTS Operator will continue to work on the business development of its capabilities, including the direction of creating a European gas hub in Ukraine.”
Signaling the end of an era, the volume of Russian gas crossing Ukraine on the Soviet-era pipeline system is down 42% ​compared to the same January-August period last year. Under the Dec. 30 contract, Russia’s Gazprom committed to shipping 65bn cubic meters across Ukraine, down from the 2019 level of 89.6bcm. Gazprom is paying full freight, but it is only shipping 80% of booked capacity. Under the contract, Gazprom will ship even less starting next year -- 40bcm annually through 2024. For the last 30 years, Ukraine’s gas transmission system has been a big money earner – about $3bn a year in fees.
Ukraine’s natural gas imports jumped 67% y/y in August, as EU gas traders filled Ukraine’s gas storage reservoirs to a record 84% of capacity. ​Traders store their gas in Ukraine, waiting for the traditional autumn rise in prices as Europe prepares for winter. For its own use, Ukraine’s Naftogaz had 26bn cubic meters in storage on Saturday, 39% more than one year earlier.
64​ UKRAINE Country Report​ October 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com