Page 53 - UKRRptJan22

9.0 Industry & Sectors 9.1 Sector news
9.1.1 Oil & gas sector news
EU ministers agree on gas price cap. Energy ministers of the European Union member states on December 19 have reached a consensus on a cap for natural gas prices, according to the spokesperson for the Czech Republic's EU presidency, Dmitrij Černikov. Reuters reported, citing an official document, that the new policy states that a cap on gas prices will be implemented at €180 per megawatt hour.
Ukraine will need to import gas in February-March, given the increase in its use for heat and electricity generation due to damage of Ukraine's power system by Russian shelling, Lana Zerkal, adviser to the Energy Minister, said. At the same time, she recalled that, according to a government resolution, by the beginning of the heating season, Ukraine had to pump 19bn cubic metres of gas into underground storage facilities (as of October 20, the reserves reached 14.2bn). At the same time, Zerkal drew attention to the fact that Ukraine has always used about 20bn cubic metres of gas per year, and 14bn cubic metres of gas with which its storage facilities are now filled, these are already reduced volumes, taking into account the decrease in consumption, including by industrial consumers, due to the war.
The EU is discussing the upper limit of the gas price cap at €220. EU countries on Tuesday considered the latest proposal to reduce the gas price gap to €220 per MWh, a week ahead of a meeting where they hope to resolve the issue. Several nations, including Europe's biggest economy, Germany, have opposed the idea of any cap, saying it could make it harder to secure supplies. However, Belgium, Italy, and Poland see it as a way to protect consumers and the economy from the shock of high energy prices. Under a compromise put forward late on Monday by the Czech Republic, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, the cap would be imposed if prices exceed €220 per MWh for five days on a month-ahead contract at the TTF hub in the Netherlands, reported Reuters. At the same time, the TTF price, which serves as the European benchmark, must be €35 higher than the reference price for liquefied gas, based on numerous existing estimates of LNG prices, for the cap to work.
In November, gas flow from the EU to Ukraine decreased by almost 30%.
The flow of natural gas to Ukraine from EU countries in November 2022 amounted to 228 million cubic metres. This is 27.7% less than in October (315.4 million cubic metres), according to Gas TSO of Ukraine. Thus, last month, Romania added a modest volume of 0.3 million cubic metres to the gas supply to Ukraine's gas transmission system from Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary. At the same time, on the morning of December 2, 8.7 million cubic metres of the total volume of 18.1 million cubic metres arrived at the entrance from Romania. Romanian volumes bypass the customs warehouse. Moldova imports gas from Romania through the Trans-Balkan pipeline. Volumes delivered via the Greece-Bulgaria interconnector were physically sent north to Moldova via the Trans-Balkan Line via Romania and Ukraine.
53 UKRAINE Country Report January 2023 www.intellinews.com