In a publication dated 19 July, the think tank Bruegel suggests that the European Union should explore further the use of storage facilities in Ukraine.
According to Ben McWilliams and Georg Zachmann, researchers affiliated to the Brussels think tank and specialists in energy and climate policy, while the EU has made significant progress in its efforts to reduce its dependence on Russian gas supplies, the Member States face a new challenge: the ability to transport surplus gas from the summer months to the winter months, when demand is higher and costs are greater.
To overcome this problem, their analysis suggests using storage facilities in Ukraine, historically developed to ensure stable supplies from the Soviet Union to Europe. Although already connected to the European gas network, they have not yet been fully exploited in 2023.
Even if three concerns stand in the way of their use - the risk of war and damage to gas infrastructure, the priority given to filling European facilities and fears that Ukraine will not return the gas in the event of a harsh winter - the use of this additional storage capacity in Ukraine would offer considerable benefits.
According to the two researchers, this would better prepare the EU for winter by ensuring a stable and affordable supply of gas, while providing welcome support for the Ukrainian economy.
See the analysis: https://aeur.eu/f/8al (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)