EU traders have pumped 600 million cubic meters of gas into Ukraine’s underground storage.

Energy Minister German Galushchenko noted that Ukraine’s storage facilities are the largest in Europe, with a total volume of more than 30 billion cubic meters, and with 15 billion cubic meters still available for European partners.

According to the WSJ, by the start of the heating season there will be roughly 3.5 billion cubic meters of foreign traders’ gas in underground storage facilities in Ukraine. For them this is a risk, but at the same time, an opportunity to make profits. Since storage facilities in the EU are already 89.75% full against a target of 90% on November 1, prices may skyrocket, as there simply will be nowhere to store the newly purchased gas. Therefore, traders can pump cheap gas into Ukrainian UGSs and sell it at higher rates when prices rise.

According to the publication’s calculations, the potential profit from 3.5 billion cubic meters can amount to $370M.