The operating reserve of natural gas in Russia’s underground gas storage facilities (UGSF) has been brought up to a record high of 72.662 billion cubic meters, up from 72.638 bcm a year earlier, Gazprom said.
The daily withdrawal capacity of Russian UGSF has also reached a new record high of 852.4 mcm, up from 847.9 mcm a year earlier, the gas giant said. “The high level of reserves and capacity of Gazprom’s UGSF will make it possible to quickly withdraw the necessary amount of gas from storage in the event of a sudden drop in temperature and increase in consumption,” the company said.
Gazprom’s management board has taken under advisement information about the readiness of the infrastructure of the Unified Gas Supply System for the peak load period at the end of 2022 and beginning of 2023 and measures to ensure uninterrupted gas supplies to consumers over the winter. Gazprom said it has carried out all planned measures, including 11 sets of scheduled maintenance and repair work. Repairs have been fully completed at 90 gas production and preparation facilities.
Particular attention was devoted to ensuring the stable operation of the gas transport system, the company said. As of October 1, repairs had been done on 669 km of linear trunk pipelines, 15 underwater crossings, 454 gas pumping units and 104 gas distribution stations. In-line inspections have been done on more than 26,000 km of gas pipelines.
UGSF and the reserves in them play an important role in confidently getting through the fall and winter season, Gazprom said. The operating reserve in Russia’s UGSF has been brought up to a new record high of 72.662 bcm by the start of the 2022/2023 offtake season. With UGSF in Belarus and Armenia, gas reserves total 73.859 bcm.
The potential maximum daily withdrawal capacity of Russian UGSF has reached 852.4 mcm, which is also a new record for Russia’s gas industry, Gazprom said. With UGSF in Belarus and Armenia, the figure is 892.4 mcm.