Ukraine has enough gas to heat homes this winter - Naftogaz - Reuters

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The logo of the Ukraine's state energy company Naftogaz is seen outside the company's headquarters in central Kyiv, Ukraine October 18, 2021. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

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LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Ukraine has enough gas supplies to make sure homes can remain heated in the country even if gas transit flows from Russia through the country are halted, Naftogaz head Yuriy Vitrenko told Reuters on Wednesday.

Concerns are mounting about a possible invasion of Ukraine following a build up of Russian troops on its border, while Moscow denies such a plan and has accused the West of hysteria.

Ukraine buys its gas from Western traders and has not imported gas directly from Russia since 2015, but its gas supply system is integrated into transit gas pipelines which export Russian gas through Ukrainian territory to Europe.

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Ukraine imports around 30% of its gas needs and is typically heavily reliant on gas supplies from Russia to Europe.

“Till the end of the heating season we have enough gas in storage, and with capacity to import from Europe we should be able physically to get enough gas,” Vitrenko said.

European gas prices soared more than 300% in 2021 and remain high amid the tensions on the Ukraine border.

Should an invasion take place gas prices would likely skyrocket further, leading to reduced demand from industrial customers Vitrenko said.

"One should expect if there is an interruption of gas transit through Ukraine prices would go up in Europe and it will hurt demand," he said.

The West has threatened Moscow with a raft of sanctions should it invade Ukraine, including a possible halt to the new Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, which bypasses Ukraine.

Ukraine has opposed the pipeline, saying it would increase Europe's dependence on Russian gas.

Vitrenko said the new gas route would signal the end of $2 billion a year in revenues Ukraine currently receives for allowing Russian gas to be transited through its country to Europe.

“Our expectation is that as soon as Nord Stream 2 is up and running there will be no gas transit through Ukraine,” Vitrenko said.

With the transit deal set to expire in 2024 Ukraine is already looking at ways it could replace the lost revenues.

Vitrenko said the country could look at more renewable energy production, biofuels and green hydrogen but it would likely need to secure billions of dollars of investment to achieve this.

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Reporting By Susanna Twidale, additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kyiv; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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