--- title: "Ukraine Begins Selling Surplus Gas from Underground Storage to Europe: Stocks Exceed 15 Billion Cubic Meters" description: "Private traders have begun selling gas from Ukraine's underground storage to Poland amid record stocks exceeding 15 billion cubic meters and falling domestic demand. Domestic gas prices are almost twice as low as European prices." date: 2026-09-11T16:22:07.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/ukraine-sells-surplus-gas-from-underground-storage-to-europe tags: [ukraine, natural-gas, pgh, poland, energy-export, entsoe] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Ukraine Begins Selling Surplus Gas from Underground Storage to Europe: Stocks Exceed 15 Billion Cubic Meters ![Gas infrastructure operator checks a pressure gauge at a Ukrainian underground gas storage facility supporting gas exports to Europe](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/11/ukraina-prodaet-izbytok-gaza-iz-pkhg-v-evropu/ukraina-prodaet-izbytok-gaza-iz-pkhg-v-evropu-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - Since September 9–11, 2026, private traders have been shipping gas from Ukraine's underground storage to Poland on a daily basis, with an initial volume of about 2 million cubic meters. - Stocks in underground storage have exceeded 15 billion cubic meters, which is above the critical minimum of 13.2 billion cubic meters stated by the Cabinet of Ministers. - Domestic gas prices are almost twice as low as European prices, making export economically advantageous for private companies. Against the backdrop of record-high stocks in underground gas storage and falling domestic demand, private traders have begun selling natural gas from Ukraine's underground storage facilities to European consumers. This is reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing data from the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E). According to the outlet, one private energy company shipped approximately 2 million cubic meters of gas to Poland between September 9 and 11, 2026, gas that is recorded in Ukraine's underground storage under a "customs warehouse" regime, with shipments continuing on a daily basis. ### Surplus in Underground Storage and First Shipments to Poland The market logic behind launching sales is straightforward: gas volumes in Ukraine's underground storage have exceeded planned levels, while domestic consumption has declined. As a result, a surplus has formed that companies find uneconomical to keep within the country. Selling excess volumes on the European market is one mechanism for balancing the domestic market and stabilizing the situation of resource overabundance. It is separately noted that the gas moved to Poland was under a "customs warehouse" regime, meaning it had effectively already been declared for transit or storage under a special customs status. ### Price Gap as the Main Driver The key incentive for traders has been the price gap: domestic natural gas prices in Ukraine are currently almost twice as low as European prices. This disparity makes it significantly harder to sell the resource within the country, making export to Europe an economically rational decision for private players. This is precisely why shipments to Poland are of a regular, daily nature rather than a one-off event. ### Stocks Well Above the Critical Minimum According to open data, gas stocks in Ukraine's underground storage have exceeded 15 billion cubic meters, which is more than sufficient to get through the heating season. For comparison: the Cabinet of Ministers previously stated that the "critically necessary minimum" for winter, based on past experience, is at least 13.2 billion cubic meters in underground storage. Thus, current stocks exceed the safety threshold with a comfortable margin, allowing surplus to be sold abroad without risk to winter supply. ### Context of Bilateral Flows and Production Export The situation should be viewed in the broader context of bilateral gas relations. Earlier, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski stated that Poland is preparing to supply Ukraine with additional volumes of gas, meaning flows between the two countries run in both directions. In parallel, the Cabinet of Ministers has discussed resuming exports of Ukrainian gas at up to 15% of production. These initiatives concern primarily the extracted resource and formalized export, whereas the described trader shipments are the sale of gas already accumulated in underground storage under a "customs warehouse" regime. ### Contradictory Data The public discourse features two, at first glance, diverging pictures. On the one hand, official statements (including from the Polish side) emphasize gas supplies *into* Ukraine and preparations to resume formalized export of the extracted resource at up to 15% of production. On the other hand, ENTSO-E data records actual shipments of gas *out of* Ukraine's underground storage to Poland by private traders. These versions do not mutually exclude each other: they concern different mechanisms (bilateral state/contractual flows versus the market sale of accumulated surplus) and different physical batches of gas (extracted versus stored under a "customs warehouse"). Nevertheless, in the media this is often presented as a contradiction in the direction of supplies, which requires the reader to distinguish between two planes — state export policy and private trading activity. ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [Private traders sell surplus gas to Europe due to excess stocks in Ukraine's underground storage](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/gaz-iz-psg-ukrayini-pishov-evropu-chomu-privatni-1789139763.html) - Основной источник: отгрузки 9–11 сентября в Польшу ~2 млн куб. м, режим «таможенного склада», данные ENTSO-E, ценовой разрыв вдвое. - [Private traders begin selling gas to Europe amid excess stocks in Ukraine's underground storage](https://zn.ua/ECONOMICS/chastnye-trejdery-nachali-prodavat-haz-v-evropu-iz-za-prevyshenija-zapasov-v-ukrainskikh-pkhh.html) - Независимое подтверждение факта запуска частных трейдерских продаж из ПХГ. - [Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski: country is preparing to supply Ukraine with additional gas volumes](https://1prime.ru/20260825/polsha-872640006.html) - Контекст двусторонних потоков: Польша готова поставлять газ Украине (25.08.2026). - [Up to 15% of production: authorities prepare to resume export of Ukrainian gas](https://www.obozrevatel.com/ekonomika-glavnaya/do-15-dobyichi-kabmin-gotovitsya-vozobnovit-eksport-ukrainskogo-gaza.htm) - Контекст: подготовка к возобновлению формализованного экспорта добытого газа до 15% добычи. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: How much gas did Ukraine send to Poland in the first days of sales? **A:** According to ENTSO-E data, one private energy company shipped approximately 2 million cubic meters of gas to Poland between September 9 and 11, 2026, gas held in Ukraine's underground storage under a "customs warehouse" regime, with shipments continuing on a daily basis. ### Q: Why did private traders start selling gas to Europe? **A:** The reason is that planned stocks in underground storage have been exceeded and domestic consumption has fallen, along with an almost twofold price gap: domestic gas prices are significantly lower than European ones. ### Q: What are the current gas stocks in Ukraine's underground storage? **A:** Stocks have exceeded 15 billion cubic meters, which is above the critical minimum of 13.2 billion cubic meters stated by the Cabinet of Ministers as the volume needed to get through the heating season.