Europe’s gas glut this summer benefitted Ukraine as 79 EU traders used Ukraine’s new duty free warehouse regime to store gas in 12 underground reservoirs.

Europe’s gas glut this summer benefitted Ukraine as 79 EU traders used Ukraine’s new duty free warehouse regime to store gas in 12 underground reservoirs. This fall, gas stored in this customs regime hit 11 bcm, triple the level of 2017. With the five largest reservoirs within 160 km of Hungary, Ukraine supplied Hungary with a record 9 bcm this year. “Thanks to market reform, Ukraine became Europe’s indisputable storage hub in 2020 as markets were facing suppressed demand linked to the pandemic and an underlying supply overhang,” writes Aura Sabadus, a senior energy journalistfor London’s Independent Commodity Intelligence Services, or ICIS.