Underground gas storage facilities (UGS) in Ukraine currently hold approximately 15.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas. This was stated by Mikhail Svisch, a natural gas market analyst at ExPro Consulting, whose words are cited by RBC-Ukraine. According to his assessment, this is the highest storage level in the past five years, indicating a significant outperformance of previously recorded figures.
Exceeding the Government's Target
The Ukrainian government set a target gas storage volume of 14.6 billion cubic meters for the heating season. According to baseline estimates, this volume should have been sufficient to get through winter under various consumption scenarios. As Svisch noted, the government's target was already achieved by the end of August. Thus, by mid-September, actual reserves exceeded the baseline winter benchmark by approximately 900 million cubic meters — nearly a billion. "Accordingly, we have 15.5 billion cubic meters, already almost a billion more — this should be more than enough to get through the heating season," the analyst emphasized.
Five-Year Record
The achieved volume of 15.5 billion cubic meters is characterized by the ExPro Consulting analyst as the highest in the past five years. This means that previous heating seasons began with a significantly lower gas reserve in underground storage facilities. The fact that the target of 14.6 billion was reached as early as the end of August, followed by further accumulation to 15.5 billion, indicates that injection rates this year were higher than assumed in the government's plan.
Security Risks and Export Restrictions
Despite record reserves, the analyst emphasizes that the situation remains dependent on security factors. New Russian attacks on gas extraction and other energy infrastructure could quickly change the balance and reduce the available gas volume. In addition, zero export quotas for natural gas of Ukrainian origin continue to be in effect, which the Cabinet of Ministers introduced at the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. This means that the accumulated resource is entirely directed toward domestic needs and ensuring uninterrupted supply to consumers during the heating season.
