Ukraine might not be able to store 19 billion cubic meters of gas in reserves before winter.

Ukraine’s Naftogaz is unlikely to be able to fulfill the task given by the Cabinet of Ministers to accumulate 19 billion cubic meters of gas in underground storage by winter, said CEO of Naftogaz Yuriy Vitrenko for NV.ua. Currently, the company has pumped 12.3 billion cubic meters into storage facilities. By the beginning of the heating season, a part of the missing gas will be able to be provided by internal production. This will amount to approximately 1 billion cubic meters per month. But another 4.5 billion cubic meters need to be imported. According to Vitrenko, the biggest problems contributing to the gas storage shortage is the high gas price and lack of money required to finance such imports. He added that there are also technological restrictions on how much gas can be imported per day and how much can be pumped.