MOSCOW, June 16. /TASS/. Net gas injections by EU countries into underground gas storage (UGS) facilities since the start of the summer season in April 2026 have already exceeded 18 bln cubic meters (bcm), according to TASS calculations based on data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE).

European gas storage facilities are currently 44.72% full, which is 14.3 percentage points below the average level for this date over the past five years, compared with 53.4% a year earlier. Total gas inventories stand at 48.9 bcm.

Total gas injections into European storage facilities since the beginning of June amount to 4.9 bcm, down 16% year-on-year. This figure is also 4% below the average storage refill pace for this date across the entire period of observations. Gazprom had previously noted that Europe continues to set anti-records in filling its storage facilities.

Under European Commission requirements, EU member states must ensure that gas storage facilities are 90% full between October 1 and December 1 each year. In addition, a 10% flexibility margin is permitted in the event of difficult storage-filling conditions. As a result, net injections into European storage facilities ahead of the 2026-2027 autumn-winter season must total at least 68 bcm in order to meet the storage target. A year earlier, Europe managed to achieve net injections of only about 55 bcm.

The current injection season will take place amid higher fuel prices due to increased competition with Asia for available liquefied natural gas volumes following the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. Gazprom has forecast that gas inventories in European storage facilities may fail to reach even 70% ahead of the next heating season.

As previously reported by TASS, Europe concluded its heating season in early April. The season was the second longest since records began in 2011, lasting 173 days. It was surpassed only by the 2020-2021 heating season, which lasted an unmatched 190 days. Net withdrawals during the most recent heating season exceeded 61 bcm, which was 6.5 bcm more than the volumes injected during the previous summer.