Gazprom Books Extra Ukrainian Transit Capacity in Oct
Russia's Gazprom has booked more transit capacity through Ukraine in October, in addition to the capacity stipulated in its long-term transit contract with the country, Ukrainian gas firm Naftogaz said on September 21.
Naftogaz did not say how much capacity had been booked or how much was paid, but said it had been auctioned off to Gazprom at platforms in Hungary and Poland. This marks the first time Ukrainian transit capacity has been allocated in this way, it said.
Under their current transit contract reached in December, Russia is paying Ukraine for the transit of 65bn m3 of gas through its territory this year, regardless of how much gas it actually sends. Only 34.8bn m3 of Russian gas went through Ukraine to Europe in January-August, down 42% year on year, reflecting the sharp decline in Gazprom's sales caused by the coronavirus and other factors. But it cannot carry over unused capacity from one month to the next and Naftogaz said the money would benefit Ukraine: both it, and gas transporter GTSOU, are state-owned.
Colder weather towards the end of this year should support gas imports, however. Gazprom's gas will also become more competitive next to LNG, some analysts have said, as prices in its oil-indexed contracts begin to reflect the oil price collapse in March-April.