Kiev, June 4 - Neftegaz.RU. Ukrainian state gas firm Ukrtransgaz, the energy transport and storage arm of Naftogaz, has reported that natural gas reserves in the country’s underground storage facilities have grown by 31 %, Ukrainian news agency UNIAN reports.
Ukraine and Russia have still not agreed on the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine to Europe, and there remains a real possibility that no agreement will be reached.
Fearing a complete halt of transit, Naftogaz is aiming to store at least 20 billion cu m by the beginning of the 2019-2020 winter season. Ukrtransgaz operates 12 underground facilities with a 31 billion cu m storage capacity.
In March, Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolyev said he expected Ukraine to lose its gas transit role entirely once Russia’s so-called Turkish Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines are completed.
On June 3, Russian Gazprom announced that 57 % (1,391 km) of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline have now been completed.
