MOSCOW, February 6. /TASS/. Gas reserves in underground storage (UGS) facilities in Europe have dropped to about 51%, while LNG flows from terminals into pipelines rose to a record high in February, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). However, gas volumes in UGS facilities are still the fourth highest on record for early February. Since the beginning of the heating season, the EU has withdrawn more than 51.5 bln cubic meters from UGS.
Gas withdrawals from UGS facilities in EU countries amounted to 765 mln cubic meters on February 4, according to GIE. Injections decreased to 13 mln cubic meters. Despite the high rate of consumption of gas reserves in the current month (the second in history for February), the total volume of fuel in the UGS is the fourth maximum for the beginning of February for the entire observation period at less than 57 bln cubic meters of gas.
The last gas withdrawal season from European underground storage facilities ended on March 31, 2024, when 58.44% of the reserves remained in them (a record for the observation period). Currently, the European UGS facilities are filled to 51.3% (7.7 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 2019-2020 and 2022-2023 heating seasons.
The heating season in Europe began on October 29, 2024 (10 days earlier than in the last fall-winter season), and since then EU countries have withdrawn more than 51.5 bln cubic meters of gas from storage facilities. At the same time, the total gas withdrawal from UGS facilities on the 99th day from the moment of reaching the maximum filling is 25% 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 storage facilities at the end of the heating season in spring fell to critical levels below 18% and 26%, respectively and it was even necessary to resort to the withdrawal of so-called buffer gas, which is used to maintain the required pressure in storage facilities.
The current week in Europe is colder than the previous seven-day period. The share of wind power in EU electricity generation averaged 21% in January, while in the first days of February it was only about 9.5%. The average gas price in Europe in December 2024 was $489 per 1,000 cubic meters, in January it was about $518, and in early February - $566.
The flow of LNG from terminals into the European gas transport system in February is at a record level. Currently, the capacity for regasification of LNG and its subsequent injection into European pipelines is at 54% of its maximum.