Operations of the European gas industry are realigning with the changing season, with the warming spring temperatures in Europe and declining prices on the spot market resulting in importers reducing off-take of Russian gas.
According to the data of Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine, nomination for April 26 is 56 million cubic meters, and bookings for April 25 totaled 68.4 million cubic meters.
Rising temperatures and seasonally declining gas consumption allow importers to return to the flexible optimization of booking volumes from suppliers depending on the cost. Gas imported under a month-ahead contract – Gazprom has about half of its exports pegged to this contract – in April is around $1,400 per thousand cubic meters. A day-ahead contract on the spot market is currently $1,050 per thousand cubic meters. Therefore, buyers are increasing their purchases on the spot market, and reducing off-take on record-breaking long-term contracts.
Gas actually flowing via the Yamal-Europe pipeline between Germany and Poland has been continuously pumping in reverse mode since April 7. On Tuesday, the reverse flow of gas from Germany to Poland has dropped 66.7% to 200,000 cubic meters per hour, according to data from the Gascade gas transport operator. Off-take of additional volumes of gas from the main European hubs instead of direct imports from the east is another factor in the current high gas prices in the European Union.
Wind farms provided an average of 17% of the electricity generation in the European Union last week from April 18 to 24, with the figure falling to 9.5% on Monday, according to data from the WindEurope association.
Europe has begun injecting gas into its underground gas storage (UGS) facilities. The current stock level is 31.57%, an increase of 0.33 percentage points over the past day. The current stockpile in the UGS facilities in Europe is 6.3 percentage points behind the five-year average. High prices for imported gas have restrained injection in April.
According to the decree of the Russian president, the government as of April has introduced a new procedure for paying for Russian gas supplies that stipulates the obligatory conversion of the contract currency into rubles through Gazprombank.
Gas reserves in underground storage facilities at the end of the heating season (HZP) 2021/2022 amount to 9 billion cubic meters. m, coal in warehouses – 1 million tons, said the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.
“We have successfully completed the heating season. 9 billion cubic meters of gas in storage, 1 million tons of coal in warehouses. We will begin preparations for the next heating season,” the prime minister said in a televised address on Tuesday evening.
As reported, at the end of the 2020/2021 AWP, as of April 1, there were 0.491 million tons of coal in the warehouses of the TPP Group, while gas reserves amounted to almost 16 billion cubic meters.
The EU has developed a plan for reverse gas supplies to Ukraine and Moldova in case these countries experience interruptions in supplies from Russia, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson.
“She told reporters in Vienna that the EU in the current situation cannot consider Russia a trustworthy partner, and therefore interruptions are not ruled out,” the agency writes.
In addition, Simson noted that Brussels is assessing what difficulties the economies and citizens of the EU countries will face if this integration association imposes an embargo on oil supplies from Russia.
The operator of the GTS of Ukraine (OGTSU) reports on gross interference by representatives of Russia and illegal armed groups controlled by them, the so-called. “LNR” in the operational work and technological processes of gas transportation through the compressor station (CS) “Novopskov” in the Luhansk region.
“The Novopskov CS is an important facility for organizing gas transportation to consumers in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Almost a third of the transit to Europe from the Sokhranivka gas measuring station (GIS) also passes through this station,” the OGTSU said on Friday.
According to it, a number of actions by the occupiers were recorded, providing for changes in the operation of communication equipment and technological modes, which in fact could lead to the loss of operational control over the CS equipment.
“This will lead to significant risks to the integrity of the gas transmission system, the stability of gas transportation regimes, and as a result, the impossibility of transporting gas through the CS, in particular, under a transit contract,” the GTS Operator of Ukraine explained.
The Ukrainian company called on the representatives of the aggressor to refrain from further pressure on its employees and interference in the work of the Constitutional Court.
“Otherwise, in case of loss of operational control, the OGTSU will be forced to stop the operation of this facility in order to maintain the integrity and safe operation of the GTS. Stopping the Novopskov CS means stopping transit through the Sokhranovka GIS. Responsibility for the consequences lies with the Russian Federation,” – emphasized in the message.
On April 6, OGTSU Director General Sergey Makogon said that since the beginning of the war unleashed by Russia, three main gas pipelines have been damaged, four compressor stations have been seized by the invaders, two gas distribution stations (GDS) have been destroyed, and another 48 GDS have been stopped.
The Ministry of Energy has resumed the re-export of natural gas from Ukraine by amending order No. 99 dated March 3, 2022, by which re-export was previously stopped due to Russian aggression, Ukrtransgaz JSC, the operator of gas storage facilities in Ukraine, said on Tuesday.
“The changes apply to gas that will be imported into Ukraine from April 3, 2022 for further storage in underground gas storages in the “customs warehouse” mode, including transportation at a special short-haul rate,” the company informed.
At the same time, as Ukrtransgaz explained, gas imported into Ukraine before April 3, 2022 is still subject to a ban on re-export, but it can be cleared through customs and sold in the country.
“We welcome the decision to resume the re-export of natural gas from Ukraine. The restoration of re-export operations is an important signal for our foreign customers of services, who currently operate in 27 countries. We hope that in the new gas injection season they will consider Ukrainian gas storage facilities as a platform for storing natural gas.” – said Serhiy Pereloma, Acting General Director of Ukrtransgaz.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba discussed with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock the issues of toughening sanctions against the Russian Federation and strengthening the defense capability of Ukraine, and also thanked the German side for refusing to a demand of the Russian Federation to pay for energy in Russian currency.
“I spoke with Annalena Baerbock and thanked Germany for refusing to pay for Russian natural gas exports in rubles. Emphasized the need to impose new stiff sanctions on Russia. Informed on the frontline developments. The need to further strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities is urgent,” Kuleba wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
