Ukraine’s Gas Transmission System Operator (GTSOU) has signed an agreement with Slovakia’s gas transmission system operator (TSO) Eustream to extend until 30 September 2023 the minimal gas import capacity booking of 42 mcm/d (15.3 bcm/year) that was agreed in February 2022. This represents a 56% increase from the 27 mcm/d (9.9 bcm/year) that was booked before the start of the war. Ukraine plans to secure alternative supplies and store enough natural gas into underground gas storage (UGS) facilities during the summer to prepare for the coming winter, in case Russia decided to cease exporting gas through Ukraine.
In 2022, the Russian oil and gas company Gazprom reduced its gas transit shipments via Ukraine to below the contracted minimum of 109 mcm/d; it was sending only around 40 mcm/d in early 2023. In 2021, before Russia’s invasion, Ukraine imported around 8 bcm of natural gas, mostly from Russia, and produced more than 19 bcm, for a total consumption reaching 26.5 bcm.