An explosion was reported at a section of the Kyiv-Western Ukraine-1 natural gas pipeline near the town of Chabany at 00:20 local time (2120 GMT) on September 15. The Emergency Situations Ministry said no one was hurt due to the incident and the damaged section was shut with gas rerouted through other pipelines.
The pipeline connects underground storage facilities near the EU border with gas fields in Eastern Ukraine. State-owned gas shipper OGTSU said gas transit to Europe was not affected by the explosion. The company noted that repairs at the damaged section would likely be completed within the next two to three days, but it would remain shut pending an investigation.
Ukraine’s underground storage facilities near the EU border are able to hold 31 Bcm of gas. Data from state-owned gas storage facility operator UkrTransGaz showed the facility stored 26.65 Bcm of gas as of September 12, compared to 19.19 Bcm a year earlier. In the first eight months of 2020, Ukraine shipped 34.8 Bcm of Russian natural gas to Europe, falling by 42% from a year earlier.
