MOSCOW, June 02. /ITAR-TASS/. Ukraine's state-owned Nazftogaz took 3.2 billion cubic metres of gas into underground storage in May, says the European association of storage operators, Gas Storage Europe (GSE).

At the start of last month, underground supplies stood at 8.5 billion cubic metres. Volume now measures 11.7 billion cubic metres, representing 36.8% of capacity at June 2.

Calculated at the current gas price for Ukraine - $485.5 per 1,000 cubic metres - Nazftogaz has taken $1.5 billion worth of supply.

Ukraine’s gas payment liabilities will exceed $5.2 billion by June 7, according to Alexey Milller, chief executive of Russian supplier Gazprom. On May 13, Gazprom deputy chairman Vitaly Markelov said storage should contain 18.5 billion cubic metres available for uninterrupted winter transit to European destinations.

But Nazftogaz head Andrey Kobolev says Ukraine has no funds for taking Russian gas at $485.5 per 1,000 cubic metres to sustain westbound transit levels.

Ukraine has 12 underground storage facilities with a total capacity of about 31 billion cubic metres. These are a key element of the country's supply system and for gas shipments to Europe.

Naftogaz is reported to have joined the GSE-standard AGSI+ system used to amass gas volume data from 31 storage operators in 15 European Union countries.