Page 44 - UKRRptAug21

prices in European gas markets,” the Operator said.
With the start of Europe’s heating season 100 days away from the start of July, gas stocks are expected to only reach 70% of the norm by mid-October. Europe’s underground storage facilities were 48% full as of July 4, well below the 64% average for July 4. Even though gas is being pumped into Ukraine’s storage fields at one third the level of this time last year, Serhiy Pereloma, the General Director of Ukrtransgaz, has predicted that Ukraine will start its heating season with 19-20bn cubic meters. This is comfortably above the target level of 17bn cubic meters.
Serbian company Srbijagas and Hungarian FGSZ connected sections of the TurkStream pipeline on July 4, connecting the two countries’ gas networks. The new section will allow Russia to transfer its gas to Hungary across the Black Sea, bypassing the territory of Ukraine.
Around 15 kilometers of pipeline is being constructed in Hungary for the interconnector, at a cost of about HUF 20bn ($67.5mn), Ferencz said. Once completed the interconnector will have a capacity of 6bn cubic meters per year.
Expansion of the gas connector to a capacity of 8.5bn cubic meters per year was postponed from October 2022 to October 2023, as Hungarian gas workers and officials feared US sanctions.
The Serbian Stream project marks yet another move by Russia to reduce the amount of gas transported through Ukraine. Both the Balkan and Turkish stream projects have drastically reduced the volume of gas. In 2020, almost all gas supply to Bulgaria
and Greece was supplied through the new Turkish Stream pipeline, avoiding the existing “Soyuz” and “Brotherhood” pipelines that intersect Ukraine.
According to estimates, Ukraine will lose about $450mn per year over the launch of the TurkStream gas pipeline.
Russia and Turkey formally launched the TurkStream project in January 2020. It is aimed to transport Russian gas to Balkan states – Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina – via Turkey.
44 UKRAINE Country Report August 2021 www.intellinews.com