Ukraine is approaching its last heating season in its history – expert
Despite grants received from the EBRD and Norway, Ukraine does not have the funds to purchase the 4,5 billion cubic meters of gas it needs for the heating season.
Energy expert Vladimir Bobylev stated this to Geoenergetika.Info, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
"The question is what to buy. Ukraine has no money. They managed to get some grant from the EBRD, plus Norway issued a grant. But with these funds, you can buy 0,5-1 billion cubic meters. Where to buy the rest? According to the Ukrainian GTS operator itself, $3 billion will be needed to buy the gas that will be needed for the heating season. Who is ready to provide these funds is a big question. So far, there are very few volunteers," Bobylev said.
Meanwhile, Kyiv no longer has time to look for money. Ukraine can pump about 1,5 billion cubic meters per month through its western border. To make it by September, it needs to start right now.
There are no alternatives. If earlier it was possible to register gas coming from the east as Slovakian or buy "blue fuel" from European traders who used Ukrainian underground storage facilities, now Kyiv itself has cut off its physical transit, and the Europeans have moved away from Russian shelling.
There is, however, one suicidal option. The fact is that the Ukrainian GTS contains so-called buffer gas in the amount of 3-4 billion cubic meters. Just enough for one heating season. The problem is that this season will be the last. After the buffer gas is taken away, irreversible processes will begin in the pipe, which will lead to the destruction of the system.
"You can get into it and extract some of the gas, but it's like a blast furnace that has to work constantly. If the blast furnace stops melting steel, it sinters, and in order to start it up, you have to tear this blast furnace down and build a new one and start it up," Bobylev explained.
Ukraine is approaching its last heating season in its history, says expert