Ukraine Plays Slovakian Card to Increase Gas Storage, More Efforts Needed

While Gazprom was turning from a Open Joint Stock Company (OJSC) into a Public Joint Stock Company (PJSC), several reports published on Tuesday indicated that Ukraine increased its requests for reverse flow gas from Slovakia by 34.6% - to 23.833 mcm - from the 1st of July.

Reports said that Uktransgaz would import 24 million cubic metres (mcm) of Slovakian gas on Tuesday, up from 17 mcm in previous days. 

According to Reuters, Ukrainian officials said that the country ‘would pump a total of 40 mcm of gas per day into storage on Tuesday, compared with 30-32 mcm so far this month.’ Nonetheless, in order to meet its winter needs, the country should further increase by 50% the gas stored daily.   

Meanwhile, Gazprom explained that it changed its name. 

‘The procedure of renaming Open Joint Stock Company (OJSC) Gazprom into Public Joint Stock Company (PJSC) Gazprom has finished…The Company's name was changed with a view to bring it in line with the provisions of Chapter IV of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation’ reads a note released on Tuesday. 

Other Russian companies made a similar move. For instance, in June, Rostelecom, Russia’s national telecommunications operator, changed its legal form to a public joint stock company (PJSC). According to a source who asked not to be named, the change will not have practical consequences, as it is simply the result of a Russian law passed in September 2014.