MOSCOW, May 29. /TASS/. Gas injection rates into underground storage facilities (UGS) in Europe remained low in May - 32% lower than the previous year and one of the lowest in recent years. At the same time, storage facility occupancy exceeds 67.5%, the second highest figure for this time period. Total deliveries of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the EU are at an all-time high, with gas trading at around $270 per 1,000 cubic meters for the first time in more than two years. Meanwhile, Gazprom supplies 40.7 mln cubic meters of gas per day to Europe through Ukraine via the Sudzha gas pumping station.

"Gazprom is supplying Russian gas for transit through the territory of Ukraine in the amount confirmed by the Ukrainian side via the Sudzha gas pumping station, [amounting to] 40.7 mln cubic meters on May 29. The application for deliveries through Sokhanovka was rejected," the company’s representative said. The day before, the pumping volume reached 40.3 mln cubic meters.

Earlier reports with reference to data published on the website of the Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine said that Russian gas transit through Ukrainian territory totaled 40.7 mln cubic meters on May 29. The transit line through Ukraine remains the only route for Russian gas supplies to the countries of Western and Central Europe after the incident at the Nord Stream pipeline.

On May 10, the Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine announced that it would suspend gas transit to Europe via the Sokhranovka station as of May 11 due to force majeure, as the company allegedly could not control the Novopskov gas compressor station in the Lugansk People's Republic. As a result, transportation requests would be rejected and gas wouldn't be accepted. The Russian gas holding, however, saw no reason to suspend pumping under the previous agreement, noting that it had not received any confirmation of force majeure circumstances. The company added that it was technically impossible to transfer all transit volumes to another interconnection point.

European gas market

According to Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), gas withdrawal from UGS facilities in EU countries totaled 14 mln cubic meters on May 27. At the same time, the injection volume reached 411 mln cubic meters.

On April 6, the gas withdrawal season from European underground storage facilities came to an end. A mild winter greatly aided the passage of Europe's heating season. However, there is no guarantee that the weather would remain the same, Gazprom said. Due to the politically motivated refusal of Russian pipeline gas and increased competition for LNG, Europe's replenishment of gas reserves in UGS facilities to the level of last year may become a difficult challenge, the Russian holding believes.

European UGS facilities are currently filled to 67.64% (17.91 percentage points higher than the five-year average), containing 73.91 bln cubic meters of gas.

The current week in Europe is expected to be just as warm as the previous one. Almost all EU countries are forecast to have temperatures above the climatic norm. In May, the average share of wind power in EU electricity generation was around 15%.

LNG imports from terminals into Europe's gas transmission system reached an all-time high of 12.07 bln cubic meters in April. In May, Europe continues to see record-breaking LNG flows. At the same time, the average European gas purchase price in May fell to $368 per 1,000 cubic meters.