KIEV: Ukraine increased natural gas imports from Slovakia by 41 percent to boost supplies to underground storage, transport monopoly Ukrtransgaz said, three weeks after Kiev halted imports from Russia due to a pricing dispute.
Ukrtransgaz plans to import 24 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas from Slovakia on Tuesday, up from 17 mcm in previous days, a spokesman said.
He said Ukraine, which 12.6 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas in reserve as of July 21, would pump a total of 40 mcm of gas per day into storage compared with 30-32 mcm so far this month.
Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn said this week that pumping a daily rate of 30 mcm meant that Ukraine would be around 3 bcm below its reserves target of 18-19 bcm by the start of the cold season.
Ukrainian energy officials say Ukrtransgaz must store about 60 mcm of gas per day to ensure it has enough gas to meet demand during the winter and to guarantee the transit of Russian gas via Ukraine to Europe.
About half of the gas Europe imports from Russia comes via Ukraine.
With Ukraine’s economy close to bankruptcy due to years of economic mismanagement and fighting against pro-Russian rebels in the country’s east, officials say Kiev is facing a shortage of money for gas purchases.
