Ukraine storage ready for winter heating season
Ukraine's gas storage reserve is expected to reach 14.5-15bn m3 by October 1, putting the country on track to meet energy needs through the winter heating season, according to a September 14 bulletin from the office of Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal.
Kyiv has locked down a 2bn m3/yr supply agreement with the US, to be delivered in the fourth quarter and first quarter of 2023. It is also working to secure physical gas volumes from Norway for winter delivery. To date, more than 13.2bn m3 has been acquired by Ukraine for storage.
War-torn Ukraine has needed to prepare various market scenarios for winter as outcomes will substantially diverge from typical demand curves, mainly due to military risks that Kyiv must factor in, especially with the war now moving into a critical phase.
But Shmyhal believes that although the heating season will be difficult, Ukraine now has sufficient reserves of both gas and coal to avoid serious difficulties.
A snap Ukrainian counter-offensive has snatched back large chunks of Russian-occupied territory in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions. Since the start of September, Ukraine's military claims the liberation of more than 8,000 km2 of territory. Russia has responded to the defeat by targeting energy infrastructure.