Gas reserves in Ukraine's underground storage facilities amount to 8.5 bcm, coal 1 mln tonnes - deputy energy minister

MOSCOW. March 1 (Interfax) - The reserves of natural gas in Ukraine's underground storage facilities amount to 8.5 billion cubic meters as of early March and coal in thermal generation and mine storage facilities - 1 million tonnes, which is 200,000 tonnes higher than the planned target for this period, Ukrainian Deputy Energy Minister Svetlana Grinchuk said.

"The reserves of gas currently make up 8.5 billion cubic meters, and they are updating while the consumption is being considerably reduced. [The reserves] of coal are 1 million tonnes, which is 200,000 tonnes more than the target, it is the first time by the end of the heating season," she told Ukrainian reporters on the sidelines of the Results of the 2023-2024 Heating Season forum organized by the Center for Economic Recovery in Kiev on Friday.

The target of the coal reserves was increased because of "both production and imports," she said.

"We have already started working to enter the next fall-winter season with not the worst, but better parameters," Grinchuk said, adding that about 16 billion cubic meters of gas were pumped into underground gas storage facilities under the gas target of 14.7 billion cubic meters in the beginning of the fall-winter season.