Ukrainian company Naftogaz
offered its gas transportation capacities on the western border for gas imports
from the European Union to the interested companies, the company’s press
service said Tuesday.
"In order to ensure
stable supply of natural gas to Ukraine and to increase competition in the
domestic natural gas market Naftogaz of Ukraine invites interested companies to
use the available gas transportation capacities, booked by Naftogaz at the
Budince border point near the Ukrainian-Slovak border," the company’s
statement said.
It is reported that
Naftogaz is ready to offer flexible mechanism of interaction between providers
depending on the volume and duration of the gas supply.
According to optimistic
data from the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy and Coal mining, "the country
needs to save at least 7 mln tons of coal and about 20 bln cubic meters of gas
for a comfortable heating season." "At the moment, coal stocks in
warehouses of Ukrainian thermal power plants amount to roughly 2 mln tons (28%
of the necessary volume), about 16 bln cubic meters of fuel in underground
storage facilities (80% of the necessary volume)," Forbes Ukraine quoted the
Ministry.
However, these forecasts
are based on the abnormally warm winter in 2014-2015, for an average season the
country needs at least 28 bln cubic meters of gas. At the same time, according
to Naftogaz, in early October 15.8 bln cubic meters was injected in underground
storage facilities. That is, at the start of the heating season, which
traditionally starts on October 15, Ukraine will be able to accumulate up to
16.5 bln cubic meters of gas in the underground storage facilities (59% of the
necessary volume).
According to Co-Chairman of
the Kiev Energy Strategy Foundation Dmitry Marunich, "Generally speaking,
there are sufficient reserves to start the heating season, provided we continue
buying gas." "If the winter is moderate, from October to April
Ukraine consumes about 28 bln cubic meters (for heating and the production
needs). About 10 bln cubic meters our country receives from its own production,
and another 11.5 bln cubic meters can be used from the underground storage
facilities, as 5 bln cubic meters —is buffer gas, which cannot be
withdrawn from the storage facilities. Thus, we need about 6.5 bln cubic meters
of gas for the winter," he said.
Earlier Naftogaz Head
Andrew Kobolev said that Ukraine injected 125 mln cubic meters per day.
"There was a radical increase in the rate of gas injection. At the moment
in amounts to 125 mln cubic meters, including 114 mln from Russia, and the rest
—from the European Union," he said. "We import gas from the
European Union in all three areas; the most active is from Slovakia. We also
import from Hungarian and Polish directions," he added.
According to Kobolev, since
the beginning of the year Ukraine imported 9 bln cubic meters of gas from the
European Unionm 3.8 bln cubic meters —from Russia.
(ITAR-TASS)