MOSCOW, March 30. /TASS/. With the return of cold weather to the region, gas withdrawals from underground storage facilities (UGS) in Europe have increased significantly since the beginning of the week. Withdrawal rates from EU storage facilities are 80% higher than long-term averages. Through the Sudzha gas station, Gazprom also supplied gas to Europe in transit in an amount of 41.7 mln cubic meters per day.
On March 30, Gazprom supplied Russian gas for transit through Ukrainian territory in an amount confirmed by the Ukrainian side through the Sudzha station at 41.7 mln cubic meters. "The application for the Sokhranovka station has been rejected," a Gazprom representative told reporters. On March 29, the pumping volume was 42.4 mln cubic meters.
Earlier, on the website of the GTS (Gas Transmission Sysytem) Operator of Ukraine it was reported that applications for the transit of Russian gas to Europe through Ukraine on March 30 reached 41.7 mln cubic meters through the Sudzha gas station in the Kursk region. The transit line through Ukraine remains the only route for Russian gas supplies to the countries of Western and Central Europe after explosions at the Nord Stream.
On March 28, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), gas withdrawals from UGS facilities in EU countries amounted to 266 mln cubic meters, which is the maximum volume for this day in the last five years. At the same time, injections amounted to 44 bln cubic meters.
The heating season in Europe started on November 14, and since then EU countries have withdrawn 50.45 bln cubic meters of gas from storage facilities. At the same time, the total amount of gas withdrawn from the UGS facilities on the 135th day since they reached their maximum filling level is 18.83% lower than the average for the same day over the last five years. The last withdrawal gas season from European underground storage facilities ended on March 19, 2022, when only 25.5% of the reserves remained in them.
Now, UGS facilities in Europe are filled to 55.68% (21.67 p.p. higher than the average for this date over the past five years), they contain 60.5 bln cubic meters of gas. The winter load on UGS facilities in Europe was higher than in previous years due to changes in logistics and gas supply sources. Western oil and gas companies have stated that the energy crisis in Europe is far from over and have expressed concerns about the ability to fill storage facilities by the next heating season. The average share of wind power in EU electricity generation in March is around 19% and has increased significantly in the last few days.
Although three LNG terminals in France remain closed due to the ongoing strike, LNG shipments into the European gas transmission system are steadily rising. The capacities for liquefied gas regasification and further injection into European pipelines are now at 54% of their maximum volume. In March, the average price of natural gas dropped to $484 per 1,000 cubic meters. It fell to $430 on March 20 for the first time since the end of July 2021.