Ukraine lacks gas for the winter: only 6.5 billion cubic meters in storage
By August 31, Ukrainian repositories held 6.5 billion cubic meters of accessible gas, a considerable decrease compared to the previous year.
At the onset of the prior heating period, reserves surpassed 13 billion cubic meters, with over 8.2 billion being “accessible,” meaning readily retrievable from storage.
Concurrently, autumn of 2024 proved exceptionally arid, enabling considerable gas conservation, and the winter was mild.
For a secure heating period, Ukraine requires roughly 10 billion cubic meters of “accessible” gas.
Ukraine is presently short approximately a third of this amount—3.5 billion cubic meters. Acquiring this deficient gas would cost around €1.4 billion at present-day valuations.
Simultaneously, Ukraine decreased its import of natural gas from the EU in August by 20% relative to July.
This reduction totaled 160 million cubic meters, notwithstanding the price reduction on the European exchange.
Hungary and Slovakia (where Russian gas delivered via the Turkish Stream is prevalent) maintained their foremost roles in gas provisions to Ukraine, accounting for 63.5% of August’s deliveries.
In general, since the commencement of vigorous gas importation from the EU in May, the proportion of provisions from these nations has equaled 67.35%.
