Ukraine to begin importing gas from EU

Ukrainian state-owned company Naftogaz plans to start purchasing gas from the European Union in September.

Naftogaz aims to buy gas from Europe using funds from a loan provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Caliber.Az reports via Ukrainian media sources.

Sources indicate that the purchase volume could reach up to 600 million cubic meters.

Under the current plan, Naftogaz will not pay VAT on the gas until it is customs cleared and will be unable to use it while it remains in customs warehouse status. In this status, the gas can be stored for up to three years and can be quickly cleared through customs for use if necessary.

At the end of July, Naftogaz reported that the volume of gas in Ukraine’s underground storage facilities had surpassed 10 billion cubic meters. For the upcoming heating season, the company aims to accumulate a total of 13.2 billion cubic meters.

It is worth noting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently announced that Ukraine would not extend the gas transit agreement with Russia.