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Ukraine running out of gas reserves, will need to import up to 6 bln cubic meters by fall

Storage facilities are filled only to 2.22%, "the lowest level over the entire record of their operation," Sergey Makogon, former CEO of Ukraine’s GTS Operator, said

MOSCOW, April 20. /TASS/. Ukraine is running out of gas reserves in its underground storage facilities and will not be able to live through the next heating season without gas imports, Sergey Makogon, former CEO of Ukraine’s GTS Operator, said.

According to Makogon, the country’s underground storage facilities currently hold 0.66 million cubic meters of gas, not counting 4.6 billion cubic meters of buffer gas that cannot be used due to technological reasons. It means that storage facilities are filled only to 2.22%, "the lowest level over the entire record of their operation," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

Meanwhile, Ukraine will need some 8.2 to 9 billion cubic meters of gas, minus buffer gas, to live through a heating season. Domestic production will not be able to meet this demand, so, the country will have to import 5.5-6.3 billion cubic meters of gas, he noted, adding that it will need up to $3billion to buy this much of gas. Bearing in mind the market specifics, purchases should begin as early as May.

Ukraine began "stabilizing" imports of gas in February. Back then, Makogon said that Ukraine had to import gas at a double price because Naftogaz had failed to make reserves in time.

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