Gas reserves in Europe reach their highest level in history

Total gas reserves in the EU have reached their absolute maximum on record, Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) said, Report informs via TASS.

Currently, European UGS facilities are 97.89% full (8.54 percentage points higher than the average for this date over the past five years); they contain 107.75 billion cubic meters of gas. European countries filled their underground storage facilities with gas to the target of 90% for the heating season back in mid-August. Previously, the European Commission expected to achieve such indicators only by November.

Previously, the absolute maximum occupancy of EU underground gas storage facilities was observed on October 28, 2019, at 97.84%.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) previously noted that Europe could fill its gas storage facilities to almost 100%, but even such high reserves in the event of a cold winter and a complete stop in gas supplies from Russia could lead to market instability in the winter. The IEA also assumed that by the end of the coming heating season, reserves in EU underground gas storage facilities could fall below the critical 20%. Europe was largely helped through the last heating season by warm winter weather.

At the same time, tensions in the European gas market may return towards the end of the coming winter due to cold weather and reduced availability of LNG.