According to a report by Bloomberg, Europe has a risky plan to avoid an energy crisis by storing gas in Ukraine.
According to this information, the European Union would be considering storing part of its natural gas in Ukraine, despite the risks associated with the conflict that is taking place in Ukraine.
This would have been confirmed to Bloomberg by direct sources from the European institutions and gas companies.
At this time, fuel is being stored to have a surplus for next winter. At this time, 70% of the necessary gas would have been secured, and according to the estimates indicated, storage capacity is expected to reach 100% in the coming months.
The problem of gas supply to the Member States of the European Union arose, among other issues, due to the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September 2022.
A terrorist attack for which, for the moment, the perpetrator is unknown, although various possible actors have already been pointed out, ruling out Russian authorship, even due to investigations by the Pentagon itself.
From that moment on, the price increased tenfold, reaching $3,600 per thousand cubic meters. Right now, the price has dropped to $330.
According to published information, Ukraine has a large gas transit network, which has been essential for the transit of Russian energy to Europe. The storage capacity of Ukraine is 31,000 million cubic meters, being able to house the maximum amount in Europe.
The general director of Naftogaz, Oleksiy Chernyshov, has recently offered the possibility of storing a third of the gas, the equivalent of 10,000 million cubic meters.
According to Bloomberg, European authorities are seriously considering the possibility of using the Bilche-Volytsko-Uherske storage facility in eastern Ukraine, some 100 kilometers from the Polish border. By comparison, these facilities can hold reserves four times the capacity of the largest warehouse in Germany.
According to published information, both the gas companies and the traders themselves are concerned about the great risks associated with the conflict in Ukraine at this time.
The EU would have to offer guarantees to the gas companies in the face of the enormous risks involved in this operation.
