Ukraine is going into winter with a gas surplus, despite war
Ukraine is also angling to increase exports to Europe this winter, the CEO of the country’s top private energy company said.
Despite Russia's attacks on Ukraine's natural gas production fields, the nation has transitioned into a gas surplus and is planning to boost exports to Europe during the upcoming winter, according to Maxim Timchenko, CEO of Ukraine's leading private energy firm, DTEK. In recent years, Ukrainian energy companies had been racing to secure gas imports, including multiple liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments from the United States.
Timchenko informed journalists that the company remains open to purchasing LNG imports but intends to capitalize on Ukraine's extensive gas storage facilities, located far from the front lines, to engage in profitable arbitrage transactions with Europe. However, the country's coal reserves, the primary fuel source for its thermal power plants, have turned into a deficit due to Russian assaults on mines and supply routes.
After investing around €300 million in power grid reconstruction over the past few years and strengthening anti-drone barriers around substations, Timchenko suggested it might be theoretically feasible to avoid heat and power outages during the coming winter. Nevertheless, he cautioned Ukrainians to prepare for another season of darkness, as Russia is expanding its arsenal of more potent drones and has presumably acquired additional tools to dismantle their defensive preparations.
Written by urgent.news from Semafor's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
