Ukraine Considers New Gas Trading Instrument

Ukraine's gas transmission and storage operators GTSOU and UTG are considering the launch of a new trading product to help non-resident companies hedge their positions when shipping gas or injecting it into storage in the country, they said on December 7.

The pair are asking companies for feedback on the plan, which would involve the introduction of spot and future contracts for volumes traded for injection under Ukraine's customs warehouse regime, which allows foreign companies to store gas for up to 1,095 days without paying taxes and customs duties, or for short-haul transit and storage.

"The main feature is that the product  will be traded on one of the EU gas exchanges in full compliance with the rules of its operation, and companies that want to use it will not need to undergo additional accreditation from either the underground gas storage operator or this exchange," GTSOU and UTG said. "It will be enough to have a signed a storage agreement with the system storage operator, a transportation agreement with the transmission system operator, as well as to be accredited on the exchange itself."