Article author:
Reuters
KYIV — Ukraine's underground storage has 11 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas, but the government's target is 19 bcm, the head of the gas transmission system operator said Wednesday.
"This winter is probably the hardest thing in our history," Sergiy Makogon, CEO of the transmission system operator, said at a press conference. "Currently, underground storage has about 11 bcm of the 19 (b cm) cabinets need."
Makogon said that Ukraine would give about 30 bcm of gas annually before the Russian invasion. Although used, he said he expects consumption to drop to about 21-22 bcm per year.
Ukraine's economy is expected to shrink sharply as a result of the war, and the central bank predicts that gross domestic product will decline by at least one-third in 2022 in April.
Makogon mentioned Ukraine needed to prepare for a future scenario where Europe would stop buying gas from Russia.
"We don't need our (sending) system anymore. We expect no transit and look for other opportunities to use the system," he said.
(Report by Pavel Polityuk, Written by Alexander Winning, Edited by Timothy Heritage)
