MOSCOW, October 8. /TASS/. Gas reserves in European underground gas storage (UGS) facilities have risen to 73%, though injection rates are slowing as temperatures in the region drop, according to TASS calculations based on data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE).

While average gas injection rates into EU storage facilities this October remain the highest in four years, Europe has already missed the summer months most favorable for replenishment.

As of October 6, European UGS facilities were 72.97% full (15.11 percentage points below the five-year average for this date), compared to 82.9% a year earlier. This remains the lowest level recorded for this date since data collection began in 2011. EU storage facilities currently hold approximately 79.9 billion cubic meters of gas, which is 11.6 billion cubic meters less than last year's levels and the lowest volume since 2013. Gazprom previously forecast that European UGS inventories might not even reach 75%, warning that the region faces a challenging autumn-winter season.

TASS previously reported that Europe risks entering the heating season with record-low gas stocks. By the traditional start of the autumn-winter period, EU countries may only manage to fill their storage facilities to 70-75% capacity, marking an all-time low for the start of a heating season. Since the summer season began in April 2026, net gas injection (the difference between injection and withdrawal volumes) into EU facilities has reached 49 billion cubic meters. Consequently, Europe has so far secured only 72% of the volume required for the upcoming winter.

Under European Commission regulations, EU member states must ensure their storage facilities are 90% full between October 1 and December 1 each year, with a 10% margin of flexibility allowed for challenging conditions. Thus, net injection into European storage must total at least 68 billion cubic meters by the start of the 2026-2027 autumn-winter period to meet the standard. However, anticipating a mild winter, the European Commission is reportedly prepared to lower this threshold to 80% for the current year.