Underground gas magazines (PMG) are natural tanks with high storage capacity most often using poverty spaces after exploited natural gas deposits and oil (deposit warehouses) and excavations made in decks or salt sugar aquifers.
For reasons of both safety and development costs as well as operating costs, underground gas storage (natural gas and Hel, ultimately hydrogen and carbon dioxide) has been developing continuously since 1915, in which the first PMG in the world has been launched in Welland County (Ontario, Canada ) . Since then, both the number of warehouses and storage capacities, which are about 110 billion m 3 , and in Europe, and in Europe about 90 billion m 3 [2] . The first gas magazine in Europe was a warehouse with a capacity of 35.5 million m of gas in the depleted deposit of natural gas and oil Roztoki-Sądkowa in Roztoki, near Jasło in the Carpathians. Its construction began in 1954 and operated until 1980 [3] . The required levels of natural gas reserves are maintained in PMG, which serve, among others To satisfy the peak demand, as well as allow you to provide supplies during failures and gas breaks. Their activities are based on seasonality - it determines consumption. The demand increases in the autumn and winter, when temperatures and demand on the global market are high (and high price), and the spring and summer months decrease, when demand decreases and supply increases (and the price decreases). Natural gas in warmer periods is available (in addition to long -term contracts) as part of SPOT short -term contracts, or SWAP contracts. It can also be available from its own (domestic) extraction, which does not give the possibility of increasing it in the event of an increase in demand. Domestic mining may also be stored in warehouses that have rapid reception capabilities (e.g. caverns) [4] .
PMGs not only fulfill the role of stabilization of the gas system, but are also an important element of the raw material and energy safety system. As a result, both their construction and further expansion of their storage capacity are necessary. In the case of Poland, it is planned to increase capacity to 4 billion m 3 at current, constantly increased, at the level of 3.33 billion m 3 . In order to further increase energy security, it is also purposeful to increase the current maximum gas collection power from storage installations from 53.5 million m³/day to a minimum of 60 million m 3 /day in the time of time - winter season 2030/2031. This becomes particularly important in the context of Russia's assault to Ukraine on February 24, 2022 and the complete cessation of providing natural gas from Russia to Poland from April 27, 2022 and a difficult to predict the development of the situation in this conflict. It should be noted that, understanding the imperial nature of Russia, it systematically reduced gas supply from the east (in 2015 it imported 72%, in 2021 57%, in 2023 0%), gradually diversifying [5] . Natural gas should be treated as a strategic raw material, both in the political and economic dimension, and thus as an important element of the broadly understood energy security of the state, thus its storage becomes a activity with a high level of strategy that allows on the one hand to further civilization and technological development, and on the other hand in a balanced way to conduct energy transformation. The EU, despite the systematic policy of departing from fossil fuels, including natural gas by regulation on gas storage (EU/2022/1032) introduced the principle of filling European warehouses by November 1, each year to the level of 90% capacity, which has been implemented by member countries for the last two years. This is crucial for the security of energy supply in the EU, because it can cover up to one third demand for gas in winter. Thus, there is a space for natural gas exports, e.g. to Ukraine. Already today, Ukrainian gas magazines can offer 10 billion m 3 [6] warehouse capacities.
[1] Gazownictwo Polskie, 2009. A.bochen, Red, ed. DWE MEDIA-QIXIMEDIA Sp.zoo
[2] Gas Market Report, Q3-2024 (IEA.BLOB.Core.Windows.net)
[3] Underground gas magazines - Wikipedia, free encyclopedia
[4] Kaliski M., Janusz P., Szurlej A., 2010. Underground gas warehouses as part of the national gas system . "Nafta-Gaz". 5, pp. 325–332.
[5] Dziadzio P. 2022. Strategy of the Polish government in the field of multi -system energy transformation. 13 Polish Congress of Oil and Gasworks, Bóbrka, 03.06.2022.
