Ukrainian storage facilities hold
between 24 and 25 billion cubic meters of gas, the officials said.
The officials aren't sure how much the storage sites stocked last winter, but
they said Ukrainian and Russian gas supply companies have reassured them that
last year's problems during a frigid winter will not be repeated.
The storage sites are replenished in the summer from Russian gas sources.
We are "very thankful to the
Ukrainian authorities," said E.U. spokesman Ferran Tarradellas Espuny. "We
have extra reassurance that there will be no problem next winter."
Top European Union energy officials and utilities executives met with their
Russian and Ukrainian counterparts to discuss natural gas supplies for the
coming winter.
The meeting was prompted by a crisis last winter, when several E.U. countries
faced supply shortages. In January, Russian natural gas giant OAO Gazprom
(GSPBEX.RS) shut off its main pipeline through Ukraine, claiming gas was being
siphoned off illegally.
The Commission has called for more transparency in the E.U.'s dealings with Russian and Ukrainian gas suppliers. It noted Friday that the U.K., which suffered supply shortages and price hikes last winter, will benefit this winter from new natural gas pipelines from the Netherlands and Norway.
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