KYIV, Sept 20 – Traders are intensively pumping gas into underground reservoirs, anticipating that gas will grow more expensive in winter, said National Electricity Regulatory Commission member Stepan Bely, Ukrainian News reported.
According to Bely, traders have currently pumped around 2.4 billion cubic meters of gas into reservoirs.
“The pumping is proceeding effectively right now, mostly by independent suppliers,” he said.
By the end of the pumping season last year – October 17-18 – traders had pumped 1.6 billion cubic meter of gas into reservoirs.
Bely did not specify how much gas the traders are storing each day.
According to him, the cheap price of pumping provides the possibility of winning after gas grows more expensive in winter.
“In December-January the price will be much higher. Gas bought in the summer provides them with the opportunity to win a large mark-up, so they are pumping effectively,” said Bely.
The cost of pumping and storing gas into underground reservoirs is Hr 12 per one thousand cubic meters. In the Crimean reservoirs of ChornomorNaftoGaz the price is Hr 9 per one thousand cubic meters of gas.
According to the manager of one large supplier company, in August the price of gas for industrial enterprises was around $40 per one thousand cubic meters.
According to Bely, traders are mostly meeting the requirement to create an insurance reserve in reservoirs of 10 percent of the quarterly delivery volume.
“All the companies that provide reports are meeting these norms,” he said.
According to Fuel and Energy Ministry data, 12.8 billion cubic meters of the planned 12.2 billion cubic meters of gas had been pumped into underground reservoirs as of September 16.
By September 16, Russia’s Gasprom had pumped 10.3 billion cubic meters into reservoirs, traders – 2.2 billion cubic meters, Naftogaz Ukrainy – 220 million cubic meters, and ChornomorNaftoGaz – 100 million cubic meters.
In a June 20 resolution, the Cabinet obligated Naftohaz Ukraine to pump no less than 23.5 billion cubic meters of gas into underground reservoirs by the start of the heating season (October 15), including 12 billion cubic meters of gas owned by Gasprom.
By the start of last year’s heating season, Naftogaz had pumped 16 billion cubic meters of gas into reservoirs, including 13 billion cubic meters of gas belonging to Gasprom.
