Ukraine increases pumping of gas from UGS facilities to 122.5 mcm on Jan 17
Ukraine on January 17, 2021 pumped 122.5 million cubic meters (mcm) of natural gas from its underground gas storage (UGS) facilities, according to the operational data of JSC Ukrtransgaz.
If in the first decade of January, the gas pumping from UGS ranged from 59 million cubic meters per day up to 72.6 million cubic meters, then with stronger frost, a steady growth began: 79.1 mcm, 81.9 mcm, 87.2 mcm, 90.5 mcm, 96.2 mcm, 103.2 mcm, and 122.5 mcm.
According to the calculations of Interfax-Ukraine, until these days, the last time the daily withdrawal from the country's UGS facilities exceeded 100 mcm two years ago – on January 8, 2019, when 101.2 mcm of natural gas were pumped from storage facilities. Over the past five years, there have been two more such periods: at the end of February-beginning of March 2018 and at the beginning of January 2016.
"And this [withdrawal of 120 mcm], of course, is not the maximum technical capacity of the UGS facility [with current gas stocks]. If necessary, the volume of withdrawal can even be increased somewhat. Therefore, our domestic and foreign partners can be sure that the gas they are storing will be pumped (if, of course, an application is submitted within the required time frame)," the company said in a Facebook post.
Ukrtransgaz also said that they even hired additional personnel to operate the country's largest Bilche-Volytsko-Uherske UGS facility.
"The team of the operator of gas storage facilities works without breaks and weekends, so that the homes of Ukrainians were warm and comfortable," the company s.
The system of 12 UGS facilities of Ukrtransgaz with a total design capacity of 31 billion cubic meters fully belongs to NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy.