Ukraine cannot import US LNG directly as it is lacking regasification facilities on the Black Sea.
Those could be built fairly quickly although the first project to build an LNG terminal in Odesa never took off.
Ukraine’s current US gas imports can come either via pipelines from regasification terminals in Poland or Germany, or from further south from regasification terminals in Greece.
“The US has a significant amount of LNG capacity set to start up between now and the end of the decade. Export capacity is set to grow by 65 per cent. A large part of this capacity is being built on the back of expectations that Europe will be there as a buyer,” said analysts at ING.
Ukraine has the largest underground gas storage in Europe and the third largest in the world, capable of holding more than 30 billion cubic metres of gas.
In comparison, the whole of Europe has a maximum capacity of around 100 bcm to serve gas demand of around 450 bcm a year.
Ukraine’s storage is well connected with Europe’s gas network, offering traders space to store surplus gas in summer when demand is usually lower.