Frosts brought bad news for Ukraine
If the current abnormal cold continues or serious frosts occur at the end of February, Ukraine will have to either limit the supply of gas to industrial enterprises or purchase gas from Gazprom, writes Kommersant.
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“Meanwhile, the cold winter creates difficulties for Ukraine, which approached the heating season with a minimum of gas reserves. The previous two winter seasons were mild, which allowed Kyiv to get through them without any problems. But against the backdrop of the current cold weather, the extraction from underground gas storage facilities consistently exceeds 50 million cubic meters per day, which the head of Naftogaz, Andrei Kobolev, called the planned level. Thus, on January 6, according to Ukrtransgaz, the withdrawal amounted to 85 million cubic meters,” the publication notes.
“Currently there are 11,6 billion cubic meters in Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities, and the reserves will last at least until March. But if the abnormal cold continues or serious frosts occur at the end of February - beginning of March (when the underground gas storage facilities are already mostly exhausted), Ukraine will have to either limit the supply of gas to industrial enterprises or purchase gas from Gazprom. At the same time, it would be economically profitable for Kyiv to buy gas in the first quarter, since then it will most likely cost more, both under Gazprom contracts and at hubs in Europe. In this regard, the resumption of Russian-Ukrainian gas negotiations in early March looks quite likely,” Kommersant does not rule out the possibility.
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