MOSCOW, January 22. /TASS/. Gas reserves in underground storage (UGS) facilities in Latvia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic have fallen below 60%, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE).
Hungary's UGS facilities were 59.73% full as of January 20, holding around 3.9 bln cubic meters of gas. Withdrawals from storage facilities in the country have reached their highest level since the beginning of the heating season.
In the Czech Republic, gas stocks in storage facilities fell to 56.63% (2.5 bln cubic meters) and in Latvia - to 58.83% (1.4 bln cubic meters).
The top five countries in terms of gas storage capacity are also actively depleting their reserves. UGS facilities in Germany are 62.77% full, in Austria - 67.08%, in Italy - 68.5%. At the same time, storage facilities in France and the Netherlands are already less than half full - 43.8% and 43.83%, respectively. In all these countries, daily gas withdrawals are the highest in the current fall-winter period.
The highest storage level in Europe is currently observed in Portugal (99.52%). Sweden (88.04%), Spain (75.71%) and Poland (74.19%) are also at the top of the list.
The UGS plants in Slovakia are 64.83% full, in Bulgaria - 61.72%, in Romania - 52.67%, in Belgium - 47.71%, in Denmark - 49.94%.