Ukraine boosted its natural gas stocks in underground gas storage facilities (UGS) by 12.937 billion cubic meters (bcm), to 21.683 bcm from April 4 to October 26, 2019, according to JSC Ukrtransgaz.

Interfax-Ukraine's estimates show that this volume exceeds the inventory indicator as of October 26, 2018 by 27.2%, that as of October 26, 2017 by 28% and of October 26, 2016 by 48.7%.

Some 2.353 bcm was pumped into the country's storage facilities on October 1 through October 26, which was 48.2 million cubic meters (mcm) per day on the average. The average daily amount in September was 72.5 mcm, it was 77.5 mcm in August, 74.4 mcm in July, 71.9 mcm in June, and 62.9 mcm in May.

Some 54.09 mcm of natural gas was pumped into the country's UGS facilities on October 26, 2019, alone, while gas import totaled 58.2 mcm and domestic production was 57.8 mcm.

Earlier, Chairman of Executive Board of Naftogaz Ukrainy Andriy Kobolev said that the company planned to pump additional volumes of natural gas into the Ukrainian underground storage facilities in the event that Russia's Gazprom ceases gas transit through the country in 2020.

As reported, during the heating season from November 6, 2018, to April 4, 2019, Ukraine's gas stocks in the UGS facilities shrank by 8.45 bcm (from 17.195 bcm to 8.745 bcm).

Ukrtransgaz, fully owned by Naftogaz Ukrainy, operates a system of gas pipelines and 12 underground gas storages in the country. Their total capacity is 31 bcm.