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Gas reserves in European storage facilities fall to 55%

The last season of gas withdrawal from European UGS facilities ended on March 31, 2024, with 58.44% of reserves remaining

MOSCOW, January 30. /TASS/. Gas reserves in underground storage (UGS) facilities in Europe have fallen to 55%, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). However, gas volumes in UGS are still the fourth highest ever for January. Since the beginning of the heating season, the EU has withdrawn about 47.5 bln cubic meters from UGS facilities.

Gas withdrawals from UGS facilities in EU countries amounted to 437 mln cubic meters on January 28, according to GIE. Injections increased to 41 mln cubic meters - the highest since the end of December 2024. Despite the high rate of consumption of gas reserves (the third highest for January), the situation for Europe is still far from catastrophic. The total volume of fuel in the UGS facilities is the fourth highest for January for the entire observation period at 61.1 bln cubic meters of gas.

The last season of gas withdrawal from European UGS facilities ended on March 31, 2024, with 58.44% of reserves remaining (a record for the observation period). Currently, the European UGS facilities are filled to 55.08% (6.99 p.p. lower than the average for this date over the past five years), which is already lower than the figure not only at the end of the last fall-winter period, but also at the end of the 2022-2023 heating season (55.47%). In the near future, the level of reserves will fall below the minimum values of 2020.

The heating season in Europe began on October 29, 2024 (10 days earlier than in the last fall-winter season), and since then the EU countries have withdrawn about 47.5 bln cubic meters of gas from storage. At the same time, the total gas withdrawal from UGS facilities on the 94th day from the moment of reaching the maximum filling level is 27% higher than the average value for this day in the previous five years.

The most problematic years for the EU were 2018 and 2022, when the reserves in the storage facilities at the end of the heating season in spring fell to critical levels below 18% and 26%, respectively. It was even necessary to resort to the withdrawal of the so-called buffer gas, which is used to maintain the required pressure in the storage facilities.

The current week in Europe is slightly cooler than the previous seven-day period, and the next week is forecast to be even colder. Wind power accounted for an average of 21% of EU electricity generation in January. The average European gas purchase price in December reached $489 per 1,000 cubic meters, while in January the figure was around $512.

LNG injections from terminals into the European gas transport system decreased in January compared to December. Currently, the capacity for regasification of LNG and its subsequent injection into European pipelines is at 43% of its maximum.