MOSCOW, November 6. /TASS/. Europe has withdrawn 2.5% of the gas volumes injected during the summer from its underground storage facilities (UGS) within just one week since the start of the heating season, Russian gas giant Gazprom reported on Friday.
"High withdrawal rates are accelerating the depletion of gas stocks in European storage facilities," Gazprom said in a statement. "Over the seven days since the heating season began, 2.5% of the volume that EU countries injected ahead of the cold weather has already been consumed. We recall that the fill level of European UGS facilities at the start of the 2026-2027 withdrawal season hit a historic low."
Citing data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), Gazprom noted that gas withdrawals on November 4 reached an all-time high for that specific date, exceeding the previous record set a decade ago by nearly a quarter.
Europe began the heating season with record-low gas inventories, with current stocks falling below 74%. Just eight days after storage levels peaked in autumn at 74.96%, cumulative withdrawals have already doubled the five-year average for this period. Daily gas withdrawal records were smashed on five out of those eight days - specifically October 28, October 29, November 1, November 2, and November 4.
Consequently, since the heating season kicked off on October 28, Europe has drawn down over 2 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas from storage, with net withdrawals hitting 1.5 bcm.
Under European Commission mandates, EU member states are required to keep storage facilities 90% full between October 1 and December 1, allowing for a 10% flexibility margin under challenging conditions. To meet this requirement, net injections ahead of the 2026-2027 autumn-winter period needed to reach at least 68 bcm. However, banking on a very mild winter, the European Commission was prepared to lower the threshold to 80% this year. Ultimately, Europe managed to inject only 51 bcm, reaching just 75.5% of the required target.