MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/. The volume of active gas in European underground storage facilities is at the minimum level for the end of July in years, Russia’s gas producer Gazprom said in a statement on Monday.

"According to the data of Gas Infrastructure Europe as of July 31, the rate of utilization of European and Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities before the last summer month remains extremely low," the holding said. Particularly, in European underground storage facilities out of 66 bln cubic meters of gas taken during last season only 27.6 bln cubic meters have been replenished. The gap to the level of reserves as of the same date last year equals 27.9 bln cubic meters, whereas in Germany storage facilities are only around half full.

In Ukrainian underground storage facilities, the pumping gap to last year is also rising, having already reached five bln cubic meters, according to the statement.

The low rates of pumping into European underground storage facilities are pushing prices up, Gazprom noted.

Earlier, the company said that the low level of reserves in European underground storage facilities is one of the factors supporting the gas price on the European market. According to ICE, spot gas prices at the key TTF hub in the Netherlands exceeded $500 per 1,000 cubic meters in late July. As of July 15, the price per 1,000 cubic meters was $451.17, according to ICE.

It was reported in late June that Gazprom upgraded its outlook on the average export gas price in Europe in 2021 to $240 per 1,000 cubic meters. Previously the holding projected the average export gas price for Europe in 2021 at slightly higher than $200 per 1,000 cubic meters.