Analysis

Ukrainian gas reserves up by almost half as country prepares for no deal with Russia

Ukrainian state gas company Ukrtransgaz, the gas transmission operator of Naftogaz Ukraine, has announced that natural gas reserves in the country’s underground storage facilities had grown by 48.5 per cent to reach more than 13 billion cubic metres as of June 22. The figure is the highest in six years.

According to Ukrainian news agency UNIAN, Ukrainian gas stocks grew by 21 per cent in a year-on-year comparison, since Ukraine started accumulating natural gas fearing that the country might lose its transit role to the Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream pipelines currently under construction.

On June 4, Sergey Prikhodko, deputy head of the Russian government office confirmed that Russia was ready to maintain gas transit via Ukraine following the resolution of a legal dispute between Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukraine, but said that any agreement must be based on “economically beneficial conditions”.

“In order to achieve this aim, it is necessary to coordinate relations between the companies involved, agree on the economic conditions and to form an atmosphere which would provide for a civilised dialogue,” Mr Prikhodko told the Russian press on June 24.