21 Jun 2022 17:34

Naftogaz says 15 bcm gas storage enough for winter, to try and negotiate LNG imports

MOSCOW. June 21 (Interfax) - Ukraine's Naftogaz is in talks regarding liquefied gas imports in the fourth quarter of 2022, company chief Yury Vitrenko told reporters.

"Here there are certain technological constraints - Ukraine has never physically imported LNG. We realize that we have no LNG terminals. So we have to bring LNG into terminals in Europe and then physically transport this gas by pipelines to Ukraine, or carry out swap operations," he said.

Naftogaz will have to take many technological aspects into account when determining the timing and volume gas imports, including pressure in gas pipelines or daily restrictions on gas pumping, Vitrenko said. "We have to take many different aspects into account, which we cannot talk about to a wide audience. So, all this affects our internal plans regarding when and how we will be importing import gas," he said.

Vitrenko also said that Naftogaz would have to import 5.8 bcm of gas to fill underground storage facilities to 19 bcm by the winter season, in keeping with government instructions. "If you are going to have such a lot in storage, as the government wants, at the beginning of the heating season then you need to import almost 5.8 bcm of additional gas and you have to spend $8 billion, which is a lot of money for Ukraine," he said.

But if Ukraine approaches the winter period with gas stocks of 15 bcm then this will also be quite enough. "Fifteen billion cubic meters is also a certain level with room to spare, not just a minimum level," Vitrenko said, pointing to a decrease in gas consumption due to situation in the country.