Gas stocks shrink by 2% to 24.7 bcm over week

Natural gas stocks in Ukraine's underground storage facilities (USFs) shrank by 2%, to 24.7 billion cubic meters (bcm) within a week, December 13-19.

As of December 19, 2020, gas reserves in the country's USFs increased by 27% from 19.4 bcm as of December 19, 2019, the state-run gas transport system operator Ukrtransgaz said.

The USFs were filled by 80% as of December 19, 2020.

Background

Ukraine started pumping natural gas into its USFs on March 11 as the country's reserves stood 15.808 bcm.

Read alsoGas transmission to households to rise in price from Jan 1On October 28, National Joint-Stock Company Naftogaz of Ukraine said it had stopped injecting gas into the underground storage facilities, having switched to pumping it out to cover the needs of the 2020-2021 heating season

By the start of the 2019-2020 heating season, Ukraine had accumulated 21.76 bcm of gas, which was a record high over the past decade.