Ukraine’s natural gas shortages and high prices are driving growth in fuel imports by state-run energy company Naftogaz and private businesses, analyst ExPro said on Thursday.

The country needs to import large volumes of gas ahead of the 2025/26 heating season after Russian shelling left its storage sites almost empty.

ExPro’s report said that gas prices in Ukraine had been rising since the beginning of May and prices on the domestic market had risen by 26% since the beginning of June.

The consultancy said domestic gas prices rose sharply on Wednesday to more than 31,550 hryvnias ($757.34) per 1,000 cubic metres, the highest level since November 2022.

It also said the price difference between Ukraine and Europe continues to grow.

“On Wednesday gas in Ukraine traded at approximately 12 euros per MWh more than on the Dutch TTF. This difference is likely to encourage private companies to import natural gas to Ukraine,” ExPro said, adding that private companies imported small volumes of gas from Europe for the first time this month.

ExPro said this month that Ukraine had already imported 1.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas from Europe this year.

It also said that gas reserves in Ukrainian storage facilities exceeded 7 bcm on June 6 but remain at the lowest level in the past 11 years.

The government has said it plans to accumulate about 13 bcm of gas in storage for the new heating season.
Source: Reuters