MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/. Europe has managed to inject only one-third of the gas volumes required for the upcoming winter into its underground gas storage (UGS) facilities during the first half of the summer season, according to TASS calculations based on data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE).

Net gas injections (the net difference between injection and withdrawal volumes) by EU countries into UGS facilities since the start of the summer season in April 2026 amount to about 22.5 bln cubic meters, or only 33% of the required volume. Under European Commission regulations, EU member states must ensure that their gas storage facilities are filled to 90% capacity between Oct. 1 and Dec. 1 each year. Thus, net injections into European storage facilities ahead of the 2026-2027 fall-winter season must amount to at least 68 bln cubic meters in order to meet the storage target.

However, injection rates this year have been significantly affected by Europe's lost battle with Asia for available LNG volumes during the Middle East conflict, higher fuel prices and extreme heat in June. During such summer periods, electricity demand for cooling systems and air conditioning rises sharply. Gas is one of the main sources of power generation alongside nuclear, wind and solar energy.

European UGS facilities are currently 48.62% full (14.64 percentage points below the average level for this date over the past five years), compared with 58.2% a year earlier, with 53.2 bln cubic meters of gas in storage. Gazprom has forecast that gas reserves in European UGS facilities may not even reach 70% by the next heating season.

Total gas injections into European storage facilities since the beginning of June amount to 9.5 bln cubic meters, down 18% year-on-year. This figure is also 5% below the average storage injection pace for this date over the entire observation period.