REUTERS
While maintaining this pace, the annual gas transit volume may reach 55 bcm, which will be the lowest figure in the Ukrainian GTS's history.
LLC Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine (GTSOU) has said transit shipments of natural gas through the country's gas transmission system (GTS) in January-May 2020 shrank by 46% year-over-year (y-o-y), to 20 billion cubic meters (bcm).
In January-May, the average daily gas transit amount was 132 million cubic meters (mcm) of gas, while it has been 150-155 mcm daily since March, it said.
While maintaining this pace, the annual gas transit volume may reach 52-55 bcm, which will be the lowest figure in the Ukrainian GTS's history.
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However, since the beginning of 2020, the capacities for Russian gas transit have fully been paid by Russia's Gazprom under a new gas transit deal, which stipulates payments for gas transit at a rate of 65 bcm per year, or 178 mcm per day.
For its part, the GTSOU says it handles all daily orders and will continue to ensure uninterrupted gas transportation to European countries.
As UNIAN reported earlier, transit supplies of natural gas through the Ukrainian gas transmission system increased by 3.2%, to 89.58 bcm in 2019.
On January 1, 2020, the functions of the country's operator of trunk gas pipelines were transferred from the state-owned Ukrtransgaz to LLC Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine, which was transferred to Magistralni Gazoprovody Ukrainy's management subordinated to Ukraine's Finance Ministry.
On December 30, 2019, Ukraine and Russia signed a new gas transit contract for five years, obliging Russia's Gazprom to pump at least 65 billion bcm of gas via Ukraine in the first year and 40 bcm annually in the next four years. The parties may extend the contract for another 10 years.