Ukraine has wired an additional $24 million in prepayment to Russia's Gazprom for five days of gas supplies, Gazprom's CEO Alexei Miller said Thursday, indicating a significant cut in Kiev's Russian gas imports from last week, along with halved imports from Europe since the third quarter.
The payment indicates Ukraine's state gas company Naftogaz will receive around 21 million cu m/day of gas from Gazprom up until Tuesday, or about a fifth of the volume the company was buying at the start of last week.
The cut was expected after Naftogaz chief Andriy Kobolev said last week that the company would reduce Russian gas purchases in November while increasing imports from European gas traders, which pledged to supply Ukraine with 240 million-300 million cu m of gas this month.
At the same time, however, Ukraine's "reverse gas imports from Europe have halved compared to those in the third quarter," Miller said in statement without specifying the time period for the imports.
After a three-month halt in supplies, Moscow and Kiev reached an agreement in late September for Ukraine to buy at least 2 Bcm of Russian gas in October to fill its underground gas storage facilities ahead of the winter.
Kiev resumed imports on October 12.
With more than 17 Bcm of gas in storage facilities at the end of last week, or about 1 Bcm more than stashed a year ago, Naftogaz is confident of meeting Ukraine's demand for gas during the winter, Kobolev said.
Russia sells gas to Ukraine at a discounted price of $227/1,000 cubic meters set until the end of the year. The possibility of supplies in the first quarter of 2016 and their price is to be agreed on by the end of the year.
Ukraine imports European gas at a lower price than Russian, Kobolev said earlier, without disclosing the amount.
Ukraine's prime minister, Arseniy Yatseniuk, earlier estimated Ukraine's six-month heating season gas demand at 5 Bcm.
