“The operator of the GTS [gas transmission system] of Ukraine” has limited gas supplies to Europe on transit terms due to too high demand, according to the company’s official website.
“Orders of traders for the transportation of gas from Ukraine to the EU at the virtual connection point Ukraine-Poland are greater than the capacity of the gas transportation system at the moment. The company was forced to limit the orders of traders for gas export in short-haul mode [transportation over short distances] “, – the message says.
According to the estimates of the “Ukrainian GTS Operator”, orders for pumping gas in the direction of Poland on a guaranteed basis amounted to 11.1 million cubic meters per day. Another 120 thousand cubic meters were additionally ordered through auctions, orders on the short-haul principle in early January amounted to three million cubic meters per day.
Thus, the company was forced to abandon the transit of 1.3 million cubic meters of gas per day.
The Ukrainian gas transmission system operator was spun off from the national gas company Naftogaz of Ukraine in early 2020 under the terms of an agreement to extend the transit of Russian gas with Gazprom. In the first year of its operation, the Russian company undertook to transport 65 billion cubic meters of gas through the territory of Ukraine in the first year and 40 billion in the following. This caused the need for additional pumping of transit fuel in order to avoid idle capacity.