Page 66 - UKRRptAug22

9.0 Industry & Sectors 9.1 Sector news
9.1.1 Oil & gas sector news
Natural gas started flowing through a major pipeline from Russia to Europe on July 21 after a 10-day shutdown for maintenance, the operator said. But the gas flow was expected to fall well short of full capacity. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany had been closed since July 11 for annual maintenance work. Amid growing tensions over Russia’s war in Ukraine, German officials had feared that the pipeline — the country’s main source of Russian gas, which has accounted for around a third of Germany’s gas supplies — might not reopen at all. Operator Nord Stream AG said that gas started flowing again on July 21 morning but the flow would take a while to ramp up, German news agency dpa reported. Deliveries were expected to fall well below the pipeline's full capacity. Nord Stream said a similar amount of gas was expected to that seen before maintenance. The head of Germany's network regulator, Klaus Mueller, said on Twitter that Russia’s Gazprom had notified deliveries Thursday of only about 30% of the pipeline's capacity.
Ukraine will reduce gas production by 6.6% in 2022. Ukraine plans to produce 18.5 billion cubic meters of gas in 2022, which is 6.6% (1.3 billion cubic meters) less than in 2021, said Deputy Minister of Energy Mykola Kolesnyk. "Based on the actual production volumes today, the forecast volume for this year is approximately 18.5 billion cubic meters. This is without considering potential losses," he said. Kolesnyk clarified that the current daily gas production in the country is 49.5 million cubic meters, while before the war, it was about 55 million cubic meters. At the same time, the companies are not yet able to undertake new drilling and well overhaul projects, and are only able to support the maintenance of existing wells. According to him, the gas consumption forecast for 2022 is about 21 billion cubic meters.
Ukrainian Cabinet asks US to supply gas to prepare for heating season. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal described the supplies requested by Ukraine as "gas lend-lease" - a reference to the 2022 U.S. Lend-Lease Act, which enhances the president's authority to provide military aid to Ukraine. According to Shmyhal, preparations for the most difficult winter in the country's history are ongoing.
Ukraine can increase gas transit to Europe sixfold. The Ukrainian gas transportation system can transport more than 200 million cubic meters of gas daily to the EU. Currently, the Russians use only 42 million cubic meters of that capacity, the press service of the GTS Operator of Ukraine reported. "Nord Stream - 1 and Nord Stream - 2 are redundant. I believe they were part of the aggression that we have been observing from the beginning," commented the company's general director, Serhii Makogon, on the situation with transit. He noted that the technical capacity of the Suja hydroelectric plant is 244 million cubic meters, and the capacities are quite sufficient for Europe to receive: reliable gas transit, a reduction in the price of blue fuel, and the opportunity to prepare for the heating season effectively.
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