UTG and UEEX to blaze new trading options in UGS-kept natural gas

The JSC Ukrtransgaz (UTG), as the operator of the Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities (UGS) and the Ukrainian Energy Exchange (UEEX) signed an agreement on cooperation, which provides customers using the services of the Ukrainian UGS (injections/withdrawals) of natural gas with exchange standardized trading options for sales of their UGS-kept natural gas volumes in the Ukrainian market. That was reported by the UEEX press service.

According to the UEEX, the new functionality options will allow companies to speed up and optimize gas trading, increase their reliability, help improve the final results of trading by attracting a wider range of participants.

The UTG-UEEX cooperation between will be implemented in two stages:

At the first stage, market participants will be able to carry out trade operations with customs-cleared natural gas stored in underground storage facilities through the UEEX online platform. According to the UEEX, the new functionality will be available from mid-March 2021. The UTG will act as a guarantor of the amount of UGS-kept gas nominated for sales on the UEEX and will automate its transfer from seller to buyer within 30 minutes.

After that, the UEEX in cooperation with the bank on escrow accounts will automatically perform clearing settlements. In the second stage, the possibility of gas sales on the UEEX trading platform will be extended to sellers with UGS-kept natural gas volumes under the customs bonded warehouse and the customs bonded warehouse + short haul regimes. Thus, the new functionality will be available for non-resident companies banking their natural gas in the Ukrainian UGS. Currently, this service is at the stage of development and technical implementation, and will be available to market participants approximately from the end of April 2021.