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Gas withdrawal from EU’s UGS rises again after weekend, transit via Ukraine at 42.4 mcm

The heating season started in Europe on November 14

MOSCOW, March 22. /TASS/. In the beginning of the week gas withdrawal from underground storage facilities (UGS) in Europe again exceeded pumping. During the weekend, pumping exceeded withdrawals from UGS for the first time since January. The end of the heating season in the region has been postponed for the time being.

LNG regasification capacities in the EU started to grow again after the resumption of operation of one LNG terminal in France. The other three terminals are still on hold due to strikes. Applications for the transit of Russian gas through the territory of Ukraine amount to 42.4 million cubic meters.

Gas withdrawal from EU countries’ UGS facilities amounted to 170 mln cubic meters on March 20, according to data provided by Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). Meanwhile the pumping equaled 47 mln cubic meters.

The heating season started in Europe on November 14. Since then, EU countries have withdrawn 49.42 bln cubic meters of gas from UGS facilities.

Currently, European UGS facilities are 55.64% full (20.94 percentage points higher than the average as of this date in the past five years), with 60.46 bln cubic meters of gas stored in them.

LNG supplies from terminals to Europe’s gas transport system are growing as one of LNG terminals in France resumed operation after the strikes ended. Currently the capacities for regasification of liquefied gas and its further pumping into European pipelines are only employed by 61%.

Requests for transit of Russian gas to Europe through Ukraine for March 22 stand at 42.4 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). Supplies of Russian gas have returned to last year’s figures.

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