Gas reserves in Europe's underground storage facilities decreases by 44 percent

By Alimat Aliyeva

Gas reserves in underground storage facilities (UGS) in Europe have decreased by approximately 44 percent.

The drop in February was the largest for the same month in the last four years. Since the beginning of the winter season, the EU has extracted around 60 billion cubic meters of gas from its underground storage facilities, already surpassing the amount of gas injected into them during the autumn-winter period.

According to the Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), on February 16, gas extraction from UGS in EU countries reached 646 million cubic meters, while gas injection decreased to 28 million cubic meters. Despite the high consumption of gas reserves this month (the fourth-highest for February in history), the total volume of fuel in UGS remained at the sixth-highest level recorded in early February — 48.9 billion cubic meters.

The last season of using gas from Europe’s underground storage facilities ended on March 31, 2024. At that time, 58.44% of the gas reserves remained in the UGS. Currently, underground gas storage facilities in Europe are 44.05% full, which is 9.48 percentage points lower than the average for the same period over the last five years.

The heating season in Europe began on October 29, 2024 (10 days earlier than the previous autumn-winter season), and since then, the EU countries have released approximately 60 billion cubic meters of gas from storage.

The most challenging years for the EU in terms of gas storage were 2018 and 2022, when reserves in storage decreased by 18% and 26%, respectively. These years marked significant strains on Europe’s energy supply, leading to concerns about gas availability and supply security during harsh winters.

Europe is now increasingly focusing on diversifying its energy sources, looking into alternatives such as renewable energy and liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports. Countries are also accelerating efforts to boost energy efficiency in buildings and industries, helping reduce their dependence on gas reserves and ensuring long-term energy security.