Russian "Gazprom" stops pumping gas into underground storage facilities in Europe

The Russian gas monopoly Gazprom has actually stopped pumping gas into underground storage facilities in Europe, Interfax reports. The supply reduction process began last Saturday and ended on Monday.

According to the data of the Gas Infrastructure Europe portal, over the gas day on August 2, the sum of injection and withdrawal operations from storage facilities in northwestern Europe, which the concern uses, even went a little into negative territory.

The injection to the Bergermeer storage facilities in the Netherlands and Rehden in Germany has been stopped, and withdrawal from the Haidach UGS facility in Austria has begun. Injection continues at the Katharina and Jemgum UGS facilities in Germany.

Also, gas supplies through the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline (it passes through Belarus and Poland to Germany) have been reduced. If until last Friday it pumped 84 million cubic meters (at the entrance to Germany), then on Tuesday the flow falls below 50 million cubic meters.

Record high gas prices will primarily hit consumers in Ukraine, since the country has been a member of the European gas market since 2015 and purchases about 30% of its total gas consumption in Europe. According to experts, the cost of fuel will increase for the Ukrainian consumer up to 15,000 - 16,000 hryvnia per thousand cubic meters. The Ukrainian Energy Exchange indicates that the cost of gas at European hubs to the borders of Ukraine, according to data as of August 3, has already amounted to 18,140 hryvnia per thousand cubic meters.