KIEV: Ukraine’s gas in storage had risen to about 16 billion cubic metres (bcm) by Sept. 23 in preparation for winter, up 16 percent from a year earlier, gas transport monopoly Ukrtransgaz said on Monday. About 1.7 bcm of gas was added to reserves in the past 30 days, Ukrtransgaz data showed. Ukraine, which previously met its gas needs from Russia, has been buying gas from European states since halting Russian imports in November 2015 following Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.
Ukraine is likely to accumulate about 17 bcm of gas in underground storage to prepare for winter, the energy ministry has said. In the last heating season, which runs from October to April, Ukraine had 14 bcm of gas in reserve. Ukraine, which produces about 20 bcm of gas per year, consumed 32.4 bcm in 2016, of which 11.1 bcm was imported.
