Page 9 - FSUOGM Week 15

FSUOGM PIPELINES & TRANSPORT FSUOGM
Ukraine ends heating season with largest gas stocks for 30 years
UKRAINE
FROM the start of the heating season 2019-2020, Ukraine used 5.98bn cubic metres of gas from its underground storage facilities (UGS), Naftogaz said in a press release on April 11.
As of April 7, 2020, 15.8 bcm of gas was stored in Ukrainian UGS facilities, which is almost 45% more than the previous year.
Gas volumes in Ukrainian UGS facilities at the end of the 2019-2020 heating season are the largest for the past 30 years.
The second largest volume of 15.4 bcm was recorded in the 2008-2009 heating season.
Weather conditions made it possible to end
gas withdrawal from UGS facilities and begin re-injection in March. In 2019, gas re-injection began in April.
“We accumulated a significant amount of gas in our UGS facilities in preparation for possible interruption of gas transit in 2020. This strengthened Ukraine’s position when negotiating a new transit contract and helped ensure beneficial conditions for Ukraine. Now the large stock of gas in our storages will help Naftogaz navigate through the current volatile period,” commented Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolyev. ™
Russian LPG exports via rail hit five-year low
RUSSIA
RUSSIAN liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) exports via rail slumped to their lowest level in five years in 2019, data published by the energy ministry shows.
Shipments came to 6.03mn tonnes during the year, down 10% versus the amount in 2018. The reduction was owing to lower production of sales gas in Russia and the start-up of some units at Sibur’s Zapsibneftekhim petrochemical com- plex, which uses some LPG as feedstocks.
LPG deliveries to the port of Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea as well as ports on the Black Sea saw the biggest decline, as did overland shipments to Finland. On the other hand, exports to China began and deliveries to Ukraine were restored during the year. There was also an uptick in
volumes to Belarus.
Russian LPG shipments to Northwestern
Europe fell 13% to 2.21mn tonnes, while supplies to Eastern Europe were more or less unchanged at 2.94mn tonnes. A further 299,200 tonnes of LPG were received at Black Sea ports, down 30%.
Direct rail supplies to Belarus rose 7% 1.04mn tonnes, because of higher transit deliveries to Ukraine and other countries in Eastern Europe.
Exports to Ukraine grew by 24.4% to 679,700 tonnes, as shipments were resumed by Rosneft and Lukoil.
Rail deliveries were also started to China last August and totalled 21,000 tonnes. The suppliers were Gazprom, Irkutsk Oil Co (INK) and Omsk Rubber. ™
Week 15 15•April•2020 w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m P9