Geospatial distribution of gas storage facilities within the East European gas hub

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to elucidate the existing surplus of underground gas storage facilities of the Western region of Ukraine and to substantiate the possibilities of using gas storages not only for the state domestic needs but also for the needs of foreign importers. The gas storage system of the Western region of Ukraine consists of five gas storage facilities and is the basis for forming the future Eastern European gas hub. To better understand the impact of the geographical factor on the formation of the hub, a mapping method is used, which not only depicts the primary information on the position of the main gas storages but also provides an opportunity to analyze the effect of the location of an individual gas storage as it is used during a particular gas year. In order to evaluate the occupation degree of gas storage facilities, as well as to evaluate the possibilities of maximal use, the article analyzes each gas storage facility separately. There were used such methods as the comparative-geographical method, the idealization method, and the principle of causality in this article. The last is an important tool in the study because it allows the cause-and-effect relationship to be traced between the position of the gas storage and its fullness. Using the comparative-geographical method, two principles are taken into account: the similarity principle and the distinction principle. Using the principle of similarity, the article reveals similar characteristics of individual gas storage facilities, and using the distinction principle - on the contrary, highlights the differences. The core of the gas storage system of the Western region is the Bilche-Volyzko-Uherske gas storage facility - the largest gas storage with the total capacity of 17.050 million m³. It should be the core of the future Eastern European gas hub, as its capacity allows to pump the largest volumes of imported gas. The region’s second-largest gas storage facility, Bohorodchanske, at the time of peak gas pumping for the past gas year, was filled by 65% of its total capacity. The third-largest gas storage facility – Dashawske had the highest percentage of usage for the last gas year. If necessary, this gas storage could be filled up by another 207 million m³ (about 10% of the total capacity) according to the conditions of the previous gas year. Oparske and Uherske gas storage facilities were hardly used for the domestic needs of the previous gas year. The total capacity of these gas storage facilities amounted to 2857 million m³ (1710 million m³ Uherske and 1117 million m³ Oparske) in the past gas year.