Gazprom has booked all offered firm additional transit capacities through Ukraine for August, according to the results of the monthly Regional Booking Platform auction.
Gazprom reserved extra capacities for August via RBP on Monday. The Russian gas company requested all of the 15 million cubic meters per day offered. The outcome of the auction was the same in the previous months.
Given that 100% of the offered firm capacities were sold at the auction, an additional one could be announced in the near future, for interruptible capacities, whose fulfilment depends on the technical capabilities of the gas transportation operator. This auction will likely take place on July 27.
Ukrainian gas companies already usually refer to Gazprom’s reluctance to buy non-guaranteed capacities – which are normally offered at a discount – at a guaranteed price as blackmailing Europe. However, the ratio of firm and interruptible gas transportation capacities remains the same at 19% and 81%, respectively.
Although preventive maintenance work is taking place on the Nord Stream and Yamal-Europe Russian export gas pipelines in July, Gazprom declined to increase its booking of Ukrainian gas transportation capacities, offsetting the fall in transit by withdrawing gas from storage facilities in Europe.
Gazprom has a long-term reservation of Ukrainian capacities in the volume of 40 billion cubic meters for 2021, which is equal to 109 mcm per day. With the additional 15 mcm booked at auction, this amounts to 124 mcm per day. The company is pumping 124 mcm per day on average through Ukraine in July, fully using the volume booked.
