Storage Glut Confounds Ukraine's Reform Efforts

摘要

One of the quandaries facing Ukraine as it struggles to overhaul its natural gas market is what to do with a gigantic storage system. All told, the country has 31 billion cubic meters of storage, the equivalent of 30% of Europe's existing capacity, and currently only half is utilized. Reform-minded executives at Naftogaz Ukrainy, who control the storage via subsidiary Ukrtransgaz, want to decouple the loss-making storage units from a new transmission system operator that should emerge later this year. By contrast, more conservative voices, including Ukrtransgaz managers, caution that such a radical step will complicate infrastructure economics and might even lead to a systemic breakdown.