Page 57 - UKRRptOct22

9.0 Industry & Sectors 9.1 Sector news
9.1.1 Oil & gas sector news
Ukraine has accumulated almost 14bn cubic metres of gas for the heating season. Of the total amount, the state company Naftogaz purchased more than 200mn cubic metres of fuel from private gas production companies. The company reported that as of October 3, gas reserves in storage facilities amount to 13.9bn cubic metres. It is also noted that since the beginning of the year, Naftogaz has increased gas production in the western regions of Ukraine by 2% compared to last year's figures. The company also plans to continue developing the potential of deposits in western Ukraine and is already resuming its operations in the east that were stopped or destroyed due to the war. Next year, Naftogaz plans to increase gas exploration and production investments by 15%.
Russian Gazprom has paid for the entire October transit through Ukraine.
According to RBC-Ukraine, the Russian monopolist paid Naftogaz-Ukraine for an entire month of gas transit. At the same time, it is noted that the payment will not prevent Moscow from cutting off physical supplies at any moment under a contrived pretext. Currently, the Russian Federation continues to supply natural gas to Europe through the Turkish Stream and Ukraine's Gas Transmission System. However, even if the supply through Ukraine is stopped, Europe will not suffer much as it has already accumulated the necessary gas reserves for winter. In the last few months, the EU's dependence on Russian gas supplies has been reduced from 40% to 10%.
Moldova has launched a virtual gas reverse to Ukraine.Moldova has introduced a virtual gas reverse, which will contribute to restoring the Trans-Balkan gas route to full operation. As the GTS Operator reported, the Moldovan operator confirms nominations for gas transportation in the form of a virtual reverse at the Grebenyki connection point, which is provided for in the cooperation agreement between the operators from the two countries. It is noted that the virtual reverse implementation by Moldova opens the way for the transportation of natural gas through the Trans-Balkan Corridor in both directions. The potential capacity of the Trans-Balkan Corridor is as much as 20bn cubic metres of gas per year. In addition, the route allows customers to import gas from LNG terminals in Turkey and Greece. Advantages in the form of access to new gas markets also open for Central and Eastern European countries with the possibility of storing resources in Ukraine’s underground gas storage.
Ukraine plans to completely abandon the use of natural gas for heating.
According to Yury Vitrenka, chairman of the board of Naftogaz of Ukraine, the experience in Zhytomyr shows that in most cases, it is possible to switch to heating using biomass and garbage as fuel sources before the next heating season. The company is working with Zhytomyr on three projects that will allow heat and electricity to be produced from biomass. "It is economically and environmentally beneficial," Vitrenko noted. Three CHP plants are planned to be built in Zhytomyr, which will run on RDF and wood chips, with a 50 MW total
57 UKRAINE Country Report October 2022 www.intellinews.com