MND has subscribed for new shares in Moravia Gas Storage (MGS), which operates the Dambořice gas storage facility in the Czech Republic. MND increased its stake in the company to 97.37 percent. Until now, the Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom held a half share in the company. The completion of the transaction is still subject to the approval of the regulatory authorities.

The subscription of new shares with a nominal value of CZK 36 million will also increase the share capital of Moravia Gas Storage to CZK 38 million. MND will now hold 97.37 percent of the share capital and voting rights in the company. MND has provided additional capital to finance the technological investment necessary to fulfil the obligations under storage capacity reservation contracts with customers.

The Dambořice underground gas reservoir was built by converting an oil field that had been producing since 1986. The reservoir project started to be prepared in 2008, and MGS was subsequently established five years later as a joint venture between Gazprom Export and MND. Construction work on the reservoir began in May 2014, and the reservoir was commissioned in July 2016. Russia’s Gazprom had leased most of the capacity under a 15-year contract from 2013. The Russians have stopped using the storage facility almost since the start of the war in Ukraine. According to MND, the reservoir is almost full at the beginning of the heating season. Its capacity is 448 million cubic metres, about 12 per cent of the Czech Republic’s gas storage capacity.