Ukraine on July 23 increased daily imports of natural gas from European countries to 27.957 million cubic meters compared to 22.243 million cubic meters a day before, according to data posted on the website of public joint-stock company Ukrtransgaz.
Imports from Slovakia totaled 22.084 million cubic meters, from Poland – 3.61 million cubic meters and Hungary – 2.263 million cubic meters.
Earlier President of Ukrtransgaz Ihor Prokopiv said that Ukraine plans in late July to reach natural gas imports from Europe (Slovakia, Poland and Hungary) in the amount of about 40 million cubic meters per day.
According to Slovakian gas transport operator Eustream, applications to import gas from this country to Ukraine on July 24 and July 25 is 22.1 million cubic meters a day.
Stocks of natural gas in Ukrainian underground storage facilities grew by 21.5 percent or 1.817 billion cubic meters after the completion of the 2015/16 heating season.
Ukrtransgaz reported that if on April 6 8.438 billion cubic meters of gas were in the underground storage facilities, then on July 23 gas stocks amounted to 10.254 bcm (19.1 percent down year-over-year).
The company said that July 23, gas was pumped to the underground storage facilities with the daily pace of 43.57 million cubic meters and on July 23, 2015 – 28.79 million cubic meters.
Naftogaz representatives say minimum gas stocks at underground storage facilities before the start of the 2016/2017 heating season should be 14.5 billion cubic meters. Stocks are to be expanded by 6.1 billion cubic meters since April.
In the last ten days of July it is planned to pump around 500 million cubic meters of gas to underground storage facilities, around 1.5 billion cubic meters in August, some 1.9 billion cubic meters in September and continue pumping in October if the weather is warm.
