Gazprom must pump at least 50 bcm of gas via Ukraine next year, central bank says

The National Bank of Ukraine lays in its forecasts for 2020 the transit of Russian gas via Ukraine at 50 billion cubic meters.

The outlook is based on Gazprom's contractual obligations, storage volumes, and the date of commissioning of bypass pipelines, as stated by Deputy Head of the NBU, Dmytro Solohub.

"There really can be a scenario that for some period of time next year, there will be no transit via the territory of Ukraine. When we set transit at 50 billion cubic meters for the next year, we take into account Gazprom's contractual obligations, storage capacity, and the schedule of the commissioning of the new pipelines," Solohub told a Kyiv briefing Thursday.

Read alsoUkraine imports 7.7 bcm of gas from Europe in Jan-Aug

The official says that, in order to fulfill its obligations, Gazprom will have to pump 50 billion cubic meters of gas via Ukraine, at least.

At the same time, Solohub emphasized that following the discussion of the issue with Naftogaz and Ukrtransgaz, there are no issues seen facing household consumers if transit halts.

"Distribution of gas across the territory of Ukraine to household consumers will be ensured," he added.

UNIAN memo. The existing gas transit contract between Ukraine and Russia's Gazprom was concluded in 2009 for a period of 10 years. The next stage of the trilateral negotiations between Ukraine, the European Union, and the Russian Federation on transit issues will be held on October 28.

Ukraine's annual revenue from gas transit stands at about $3 billion.

As of October 19, natural gas reserves in Ukrainian underground storage facilities after the end of the latest heating season (April 5, 2019) increased 2.4 times, up to 21.3 bcm, which is 5 bcm higher than last year, a record high for the last 10 years.

To ensure a stable heating season 2019/2020, Ukraine needed to accumulate at least 20 bcm.