Ukraine expected to increase gas offtake from UGS facilities this week

MOSCOW. Jan 13 (Interfax) - Ukraine is expected to increase gas offtake from underground gas storage (USG) facilities this week amid cold weather, while the average level of gas stored in them is currently 29% higher than as of the same date last year, Ukrainian media said.

"As temperature is forecast to drop 4 to 9 degrees Celsius below the norm, gas offtake from UGS facilities is expected to rise," media quoted former Ukrainian Energy Minister Olga Buslavets as saying on social media.

Despite gas production in Ukraine has declined by 5% since September 2025, offtake from UGS facilities has been relatively moderate owing to imports since the start of January 2026, averaging 40 million cubic meters a day, compared to 58 million cubic meters a day in the same period over the past three years, Buslavets said.

According to the Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine (GTSOU), net gas import into Ukraine from Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia, taking into account short-haul re-exports of up to 3 million cubic meters of gas by non-residents, currently varies from 21 million to 22 million cubic meters a day, plus small amounts imported from Moldova and Romania.

According to the Aggregated Gas Storage Inventory (AGSI), a European platform, the amount of gas stored in Ukraine's UGS facilities currently totals 11.9 billion cubic meters (bcm), including 4.7 bcm of long-storage gas, which is 2.7 bcm, or 29%, more than as of the same date last year.