MOSCOW, July 2. /TASS/. Gas injection into European underground storage (UGS) facilities reached its highest level in three years in June, amid the EU’s efforts to fill its storage sites to 90% capacity ahead of the winter season. By the end of the month, inventories had risen to nearly 59%, according to TASS calculations based on data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE).
In June, 12.4 bln cubic meters of gas were injected into European storage, marking a three-year high. At the same time, withdrawals from UGS totaled 867 mln cubic meters, which is 22% higher than the level recorded in June 2024.
As of June 30, gas inventories in European storage facilities stood at 58.9%, which is 9.3 percentage points below the five-year average. By the end of the month, total gas in storage amounted to 64.6 bln cubic meters. Net gas injection (the difference between injected and withdrawn volumes) since the beginning of the summer season has exceeded 27 bln cubic meters, out of the 61 bln cubic meters required to reach 90% capacity ahead of the next heating season. However, storage levels in June remained 20 bln cubic meters, or 24%, lower than at the same time last year.
Earlier, Gazprom predicted that Europe would face difficulties in reaching its storage targets by winter. It noted that countries across the region would need greater volumes of gas during the summer to replenish stocks. Given the limited commissioning of new capacity on the market, Europe is expected to face strong competition from Asia for LNG, where demand continues to grow. The Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) has forecast that the EU will struggle to meet its 90% storage target by winter and expects that summer gas spot prices will exceed those recorded in winter, thereby undermining the economic viability of continued injections into storage.
In June, the average gas price in Europe stood at approximately $439 per 1,000 cubic meters, up 6.7% from May and 15% higher than in June 2024. Overall, in the first half of 2025, prices rose 40% compared to the same period a year earlier, and 5% compared to the second half of 2024, reaching $464.
LNG supplies to Europe
In June, Europe set a new record for liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports for that month, the highest ever recorded. LNG flows from European terminals into the EU gas transmission system totaled approximately 12.16 bln cubic meters, which is 5% lower than in May but 49% higher year-on-year.
For the first half of 2025, cumulative LNG deliveries from terminals into the European transmission network reached around 71.7 bln cubic meters, which is 21% more than in the same period of 2024.