Gas storage facilities in Europe reach maximum capacity

As of mid-February, European UGS facilities were filled to 67.9 per cent - a record high for this period.

The Association of Gas Infrastructure Operators of Europe (Gas Infrastructure Europe) has published data on the current level of filling of underground gas storage facilities (UGS) on the continent, according to Gazeta.ru.

In absolute terms, the reserves amount to 73.7 billion cubic metres of fuel.

Experts note that the current volume of gas in storage is 15.3 percentage points higher than the average level over the past five years. It is also 1.5 billion cubic metres more than a year ago.

Since the heating season started in early November, about 37 billion cubic metres of gas has been used up from UGS facilities. This is just over a third of the initial volume of fuel.

The high level of underground storage capacity contributes to the decline in gas prices in Europe. In January, the cost of fuel at the Dutch TTF hub fell below $300 per barrel for the first time since 2021.

According to analysts' forecasts, the cost of gas will continue to decline in the coming months. Among the possible risks for the market are disruptions in supplies bypassing Ukraine and bans on the purchase of Russian LNG.