The European Union is considering the possibility of storing gas in Ukrainian underground storage facilities to avoid a winter energy crisis. On this subject writing Bloomberg.
Gas storage facilities in EU countries are already more than 70% full. Storing gas in Ukraine will help avoid its oversupply in the coming months, the agency notes.
The volume of gas storage facilities in Ukraine, located at a depth of 2 km underground, is more than 30 billion cubic meters. The operator Ukrtransgaz supplies a third of these areas, which is equivalent to around 10% of EU demand in the fourth quarter of 2022.
In the EU, in particular, they are considering the possibility of storing gas at the Bilche-Volitsko-Uhersky storage facility with a capacity of 17 billion cubic meters. It can hold four times more natural gas than Germany’s largest storage facility, writes Bloomberg.
“Ukrainian storage facilities can help balance supply and demand in the second half of summer 2023, given their excellent connectivity to EU gas markets,” the agency said. agency German energy company RWE AG.
Storing European gas would not only bring Ukraine the revenue it needs under current conditions, but also strengthen its ties with the EU, writes Bloomberg.
Despite the risks associated with the hostilities, the idea of storing gas in Ukrainian storage facilities finds support, as the facilities are sufficiently far from the front line, the newspaper notes. To implement the project, gas prices must fall. The intervention of EU authorities may also be necessary to provide protection against potential losses related to a military conflict.
European Commission (EC) spokesman Tim McPhee confirmed that the EC is “investigating whether guarantees issued by state institutions can help unlock access to natural gas storage in Ukraine.”
Ukrtransgaz told Bloomberg it was working on introducing service guarantees to mitigate the risks associated with hostilities.
Gas is supplied to Europe through the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline through Poland and Belarus, through a gas pipeline through Ukraine, as well as through the Blue Stream and Turkish Stream. After the start of the military operation in Ukraine, Russian gas supplies to Europe decreased. This caused a sharp rise in gas prices in Europe, they reached 3.8 thousand dollars per cubic meter.
However, according to the association of storage operators Gas Infrastructure Europe, the EU ended the heating season with record stocks in underground gas storage facilities.
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