Europe’s gas reserves fall below 70% as withdrawal rates surge

Gas reserves in Europe’s underground storage facilities have fallen below 70 per cent.

The withdrawal rates since the beginning of the heating season run about 30 per cent more than the average level of the past five years, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), Caliber.Az reports via Russian media. 

The current volume of gas in storage remains the fourth highest in history and is significantly above levels recorded during previous years when the region faced critical shortages. 

Despite the high rate of gas consumption, the situation in Europe is far from catastrophic. The total amount of fuel in underground storage facilities is currently the fourth highest ever recorded for the beginning of January, at 77.6 billion cubic metres. The most challenging years for the EU were 2018 and 2022, when storage levels dropped to critical lows by the end of the heating season—falling below 18 per cent and 26 per cent, respectively. In those years, it became necessary to tap into buffer gas, which is used to maintain the required pressure in storage facilities.

Currently, Europe’s underground gas storage facilities are 69.94 per cent full, which is 5.83 percentage points lower than the average for this date over the past five years. However, this level significantly surpasses the storage figures for the problematic years—62.65 per cent in 2018 and 53 per cent in 2022. In January 2024, reserves were above 85 per cent, and by the beginning of 2025, gas withdrawal rates have remained at December's levels, marking the highest rate for the month since 2021.

A cold snap is expected in the region by the end of the week, which could further increase gas consumption. The heating season in Europe began on October 29, 2024, ten days earlier than the previous autumn-winter season. Since then, EU member states have withdrawn over 30 billion cubic metres of gas from storage. By the 71st day since storage levels reached their peak, the total gas withdrawal was 29 per cent more than the average level for this day over the past five years.

The previous gas withdrawal season from European underground storage facilities ended on March 31, 2024, with 58.44 per cent of reserves still remaining, a record high for the entire observation period. However, by the end of the current autumn-winter season, this figure is likely to be significantly lower. If the current withdrawal rate of about 0.5 percentage points per day continues, reserves could drop below 30 per cent by spring. 

For comparison, in 2011, Europe ended the heating season with 43.91 per cent in underground storage, in 2012 with over 43 per cent, in 2013 with 24.68 per cent, in 2014 with 47.52 per cent, in 2015 with 26.85 per cent, in 2016 with 34.9 per cent, in 2017 with 25.97 per cent, in 2018 with 17.7 per cent (a record low), in 2019 with 40.59 per cent, in 2020 with 54.23 per cent, in 2021 with 29.13 per cent, in 2022 with 25.55 per cent, and in 2023 with 55.47 per cent.

By Naila Huseynova