Ukraine will purchase up to 1.8 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural in September 2009, Fuel and Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan said.
“It’ll be about 1.5-1.8 bcm. The month isn’t over yet,” he said.
This gas will be both shipped to consumers and pumped into underground gas storage facilities depending on the temperature, he said.
Ukraine’s underground facilities currently hold a total of 26.1 bcm of gas, he said.
Ukraine received about 3.3 bcm of gas in July and August 2009, Naftogaz Ukrainy reported earlier.
Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said in early September that Ukraine had decided to stop pumping Russian gas into its underground storage facilities. “With a total of 25.5 billion cubic meters in our underground storage facilities now, we can stop pumping gas into the storage facilities. After all expert calculations, we decided that 25.5 cubic meters is enough to last us through the fall and winter,” Tymoshenko said.
