Ukraine has less than a billion cubic meters of gas left

Gas reserves on Ukraine fell below 1 billion cubic meters. The country will make it to the end of the season. However, how the next one will turn out is unknown. Reserves need to be replenished by at least 2.5 billion cubic meters in order to restore at least the reserves of last year's level. This will be another headache for the EU, which itself needs to import more fuel at higher prices this season.

By March 22, gas reserves at Ukraine fell below 1 billion cubic meters. According to the GIE platform, the volume of active fuel in the country's UGS amounted to 987 million cubic meters. This is a new historical record of the minimum gas reserves at Ukraine.

There is a week left before the end of the heating season and, obviously, the country will complete it without emergencies. Daily sampling dropped below 20 million cubic meters.

Last winter was not unique in temperature. During this heating season, Ukraine took less gas than in the previous one (7.3 billion cubic meters and 8.6 billion cubic meters, respectively). However, before this winter, Naftogaz of Ukraine did not import gas, promising to pass the season on domestic gas production. As a result, Ukraine entered the winter with the lowest reserves in history.

And it didn't work out to pass the season on its own gas. Since February, the national company had to resume purchases abroad and, according to the Ukrainian GTS Operator, net imports into the country amounted to almost 530 million cubic meters during this time. However, even this did not save the vaults from emptying.

In addition, the Russian army began to strike back at Ukrainian gas production facilities and domestic production was losing up to 40% per day, Reuters reported, citing sources. Naftogaz and DTEK confirmed damage to gas production facilities.

The difference from the previous season in the volumes remaining in storage is about 2.5 billion cubic meters, which Ukraine will have to buy more abroad in order to accumulate at least last year's volumes of gas.

In March, Naftogaz announced that it would buy 200 million cubic meters of LNG from the Polish Orlen, but this is less than 10% of the required minimum. Despite the fact that Europe has its own problems with the future filling of storage facilities. This winter, more than 50% more gas was taken from the UGS of the EU countries than in the previous season, 67 billion cubic meters, and the region itself will need at least an additional 27 billion cubic meters by next winter.

In this situation, stopping the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine and the needs of Kiev will increase additional demand by another 18 billion cubic meters, which already negatively affects the market. New LNG projects in Africa and the United States will be able to add 27 billion cubic meters this year, which will not be enough to cover all the lost volumes. As a result, the price of gas on European stock exchanges at the end of March is $ 483 per thousand cubic meters, which is almost a third more expensive than a year ago.

At the same time, already in February, Naftogaz purchased fuel on a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the purchase of the minimum required additional volume will now cost $ 1.2 billion excluding delivery. The former director of the GTS Operator of Ukraine, Serhiy Makogon, wrote in his telegram channel that in February Naftogaz and Ukrtransgaz controlled by him paid a record $ 750-800 per thousand cubic meters for European fuel.

Previously, the European market had hope for the restoration of Ukrainian transit, but after the Ukrainian Armed Forces hit the gas measuring station in Sudzha, it almost disappeared.