Gas stocks in European UGS facilities at lowest level since 2013

MOSCOW, August 26. /TASS/. Gas reserves in underground gas storage (UGS) facilities in Europe are at the lowest level since 2013, according to TASS calculations based on Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) data.

Currently, European UGS facilities are 63.28% full (17.24 percentage points below the five-year average for this date) compared to 76% in the previous year, the lowest level recorded for this date since monitoring began in 2011. EU storage facilities currently contain around 69.2 bln cubic meters (bcm) of gas, which is 14.3 bcm lower than last year's stockpiles and the lowest volume since 2013.

Net gas injection (the net difference between injection and withdrawal volumes) by EU countries into underground gas storage facilities has also been at a six-year low this month. All in all, since early April, Europe has managed to inject only 57% of the volume required for the upcoming winter, or 39 bln cubic meters, into UGS facilities.

The European Commission requests EU members to make sure their UGS facilities are 90% full between October 1 and December 1 of each year. Moreover, 10% flexibility is allowed in the event of difficult UGS filling conditions. Thus, net injection into European storage facilities by the start of the 2026-2027 autumn-winter period must reach at least 68 bcm to meet the filling standard.