MOSCOW, November 5. /TASS/. High rates of gas withdrawals from European underground gas storage (UGS) facilities at the beginning of the current heating season could lead to a decline in their daily deliverability during the winter, Gazprom said in a statement.
"The high rate of gas withdrawals from underground storage facilities at the beginning of the season creates conditions for a reduction in their maximum daily deliverability during the fall-winter period, particularly at times of peak winter demand. This increases risks to the reliability of gas supplies to consumers," the statement said.
According to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe cited by Gazprom, European underground gas storage facilities began the withdrawal season at a record-low filling level of 74.9%. This figure has been declining since October 28. Withdrawals on October 28-29 and November 1-2 reached the highest levels ever recorded for those respective dates.
"At the same time, several European countries with the largest gas storage capacities, including Germany, the Netherlands, and Austria, had storage filling levels significantly below 70% as of October 28. For the first time, Germany began the withdrawal season with gas reserves as low as 61.6%, setting a new record low," the company emphasized.
TASS previously reported that Europe had entered the heating season with record-low gas reserves. Just seven days have passed since underground gas storage facilities reached their peak filling level of 74.96% this fall, yet cumulative withdrawals have already been twice the average recorded over the previous five years. Moreover, record daily gas withdrawal volumes were registered on four of those seven days - October 28, October 29, November 1, and November 2.
Thus, since the start of the heating season on October 28, Europe has withdrawn 1.6 bln cubic meters of gas from storage facilities. Net withdrawals, representing the difference between gas withdrawals and injections, have also exceeded 1 bln cubic meters.