Ukraine aims to set up major European gas storage hub

KIEV, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine's Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko said Friday that his country has prospects to set up a major European gas storage hub on its territory.

"One of our key goals is the creation of a large energy hub in Ukraine, in particular, for the storage of gas by European states," Galushchenko was quoted as saying by the Energy Ministry's press service.

Ukraine has one of the largest underground gas storage facilities in Europe, capable of storing more than 30 billion cubic meters of gas, the minister said.

Currently, Ukraine stands ready to offer European partners up to 15 billion cubic meters of its underground gas storage capacities, he noted.

Earlier in the day, Ukrtransgaz, an operator of gas storage facilities in Ukraine, successfully passed certification and confirmed its right to carry out gas storage activities in accordance with the updated rules of the European Union.