MOSCOW, March 20. /TASS/. Gas pumping into European underground gas storage (UGS) facilities has risen above withdrawal for the first time since early January due to the upcoming end of the heating season. This comes amid very warm weather in the region and a high share of wind power generation. That said, LNG regasification capacities in the EU have started growing again due to resumption of the work of LNG terminals in France after strikes. Requests for transit of Russian gas through Ukrainian territory equal 41.5 mln cubic meters.

Gas withdrawal from EU countries’ UGS facilities amounted to 102 mln cubic meters on March 18, according to data provided by Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). Meanwhile the pumping equaled 125 mln cubic meters, surpassing withdrawal from gas storage facilities for the first time since the beginning of this year when abnormally warm weather was also observed.

The heating season started in Europe on November 14. Since then, EU countries have withdrawn 49.17 bln cubic meters of gas from UGS facilities. Currently European UGS facilities are 55.7% full (20.58 percentage points higher than the average as of this date in the past five years), with 60.53 bln cubic meters of gas stored in them.

LNG supplies from terminals to Europe’s gas transport system are up again amid resumed LNG terminals in France after strikes ended. Currently the capacities for regasification of liquefied gas and its further pumping into European pipelines are employed by 58%.

Requests for transit of Russian gas to Europe through Ukraine for March 20 stand at 41.5 mln cubic meters via the Sudzha gas distribution station, according to data released on the website of the Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine (GTSOU).

The transit line through Ukraine remains the only route to supply Russian gas to western and central European countries after Nord Stream was damaged.