“Coldest Winter” Did Ukraine store gas

The upcoming heating season is likely to be the most difficult. GTS ensures that it is possible to pass “moderate” winters.

The European Union has prepared for winter, filling its gas storage facilities to 80 percent two months ahead of schedule. The Kremlin launched a gas war against the EU more than a year ago. After a massive invasion of Ukraine, Russian leader Vladimir Putin tightened the gas valve even more to blackmail Europe, but his plan failed. And how are things with gas in Ukraine? Correspondent.net telling the details.

Ukraine has not yet implemented the plan for gas injection

By the end of August, Ukraine had accumulated 13 billion cubic meters of natural gas in its underground storage facilities. This was announced in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine by the head of GTS Operator of Ukraine Serhiy Makogon.

“Until October 15, according to forecast calculations, there will be approximately 14.4 billion cubic meters of gas. With such reserves, it is realistic to go through a moderate winter, because now gas consumption has significantly decreased,” said Makogon

Earlier, the government set a task for Naftogaz to accumulate 19 billion cubic meters of gas during the heating season, noting the need for additional reserves in case of problems with other energy sources .

The head of the company, Yuriy Vitrenko, first stated that such reserves are excessive in current conditions, and later said that in order for gas reserves in storage facilities to reach 19 billion cubic meters, an additional $ 8 billion is needed.

Makogon said that in war conditions, additional gas reserves are not superfluous, and the network operator is ready to receive them and pump them into storage facilities.

“As a GTS operator, we can assure you that the transport routes for receiving gas from Poland, Slovakia and Hungary are ready to import 54 million cubic meters per day. We hope that colleagues from Naftogaz will be able to take advantage of these opportunities to buy gas,” he said.

At the same time, the head of GTS Operator said that pumping five billion cubic meters of gas to reach the reserves of 19 billion cubic meters is a difficult task.

Gas reserves in Ukraine in 2013-2021

The first deputy chairman of the Committee on Energy, Housing and Communal Services in the Verkhovna Rada, former Minister for Housing and Communal Services Oleksiy Kucherenko said that consumption last year was 26.5 billion cubic meters of gas.

“Now it has fallen by 40 percent – people have left, industry has stopped or collapsed, the whole region has no gas, no heat. Accordingly, consumption is a maximum of 18-18.5 billion,” said Kucherenko .

The Ministry of Energy predicts consumption during the autumn-winter 2022/2023 period will be about 11.7 billion cubic meters. Last year 2021, 19.4 billion were burned during the warming season, said People’s Deputy, economist Yaroslav Zheleznyak.

“And now for the whole of 2022, it is expected that only 18.5 billion cubic meters will be consumed. This difference is explained by a decrease in consumption within the range of 35-40 percent,” said the report.

He emphasized that now the government is looking for an additional volume of gas for the heating season. Under different scenarios, such demand is around 3-4.9 billion cubic meters.

What will be the heating season in Ukraine

Ukrainians are likely to experience the coldest winter in decades, with indoor temperatures set at 17-18 degrees, about four degrees below normal, Vitrenko told the British Guardian newspaper in late August .

Moreover, according to him, the heating season is planned to start later and end earlier. In this regard, the head of Naftogaz advised people to stock up on blankets and warm clothes in case the temperature outside drops below 10 degrees below zero.

On September 1, in the Department of Utilities and Services of the Ministry of Regional Development, at the request of RBC-Ukraine, they ensured that the heating will be turned on when the thermometers drop below eight degrees Celsius for three days . The department added that the temperature in the apartments will not be less than 18 degrees.

First of all, social facilities, such as kindergartens, educational institutions and health institutions, will begin to heat up. The heating season ends when the thermometer mark is above eight degrees Celsius. That is, according to the department, this heating season will only differ in the temperature drop.

According to Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko, preparations for the heating season in the capital are at the final stage. The city also takes additional measures in case of critical situations. “A stock of reserve fuel for thermal power plants and an additional number of generators was purchased, and a decision was made to purchase the required number of mobile boiler houses,” Klitschko said.

The authorities of Kyiv announced that they will buy mobile mobile boilers, which will be a backup source of heat supply in case of emergency situations during the heating season. Mobile boiler houses, if necessary, will provide heat to hospitals, kindergartens, schools, and will also work at heating points.

Vitrenko also added that the passage of the heating season depends on Ukraine’s international partners, who must provide funds for the import of four billion cubic meters of gas, as well as those who do not unforeseen circumstances arise, such as the destruction of gas infrastructure or more. reducing gas supply to Europe.

At the same time, Makogon assured that the lack of transit does not cause insurmountable technical problems for the Ukrainian gas transportation system. “We have different scenarios of actions and decisions that will be applied during the heating season, depending on the situation,” said Makogon. He stressed that the Ukrainian GTS had already switched to reverse mode in 2006, 2009 and 2019, when Gazprom stopped transit.

Production in Ukraine and assistance

Gas production in Ukraine remains critical to supplying all consumers, but it is at risk, Macagon said. Ukraine produces about 60 percent of the gas it needs domestically and imports the rest from its EU neighbors at market prices, Vitrenko said.

On September 1, it became known that Expert Petroleum launched a new gas well in the Lviv region. The production volume is 115,000 cubic meters of gas per day, reports the press service of Ukrgasdobycha.

In October 2020, Ukrgasvydobycha and Expert Petroleum started cooperation in terms of production enhancement contract (PEC) on depleted fields.

Based on the results of a competitive selection, Expert Petroleum received 13 depleted gas fields in the Lviv region for management and carried out an increase in production of 300 million cubic meters of gas within five years.

“Today, the Carpathian region is an important place for stabilizing production and making up for the losses we have experienced since the beginning of a large-scale war,” commented and. about. Oleksandr Romanyuk, General Director of Ukrgasdobycha.

In addition, the Norwegian government will allocate two billion Norwegian kroner (more than $200 million) to supply gas to Ukraine. “The war between Russia and Ukraine has a serious impact on energy security and the economic situation in Ukraine,” the Norwegian government said in a statement.

They emphasized that Ukraine has asked Norway to take the lead in ensuring its access to energy. “Norway’s support for natural gas purchases will help keep Ukraine’s hospitals and schools warm this winter and cook hot meals. The gas will help ease the country’s dire humanitarian situation, ” said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stere.

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