TASS: Gas storage across Europe holds below five-year average benchmark

Natural gas storage levels in Europe have surpassed 45%, but remain at a five-year low, TASS reports, citing data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE).

European underground gas storage facilities are currently 45.03% full—14.3 percentage points below the five-year average for this date—and down from 53.8% a year earlier. The total volume of gas in storage stands at 49.2 billion cubic meters.

Net injections into European storage sites since the beginning of June amount to 5.3 billion cubic meters, which is 16% lower than in 2025. This figure is also 4% below the average injection rate for this period over the entire observation history. Gazprom previously noted that Europe continues to set record lows in storage refilling levels.

Under European Commission requirements, EU countries must ensure their gas storage facilities are 90% full between October 1 and December 1 each year. A 10% flexibility margin is allowed under difficult conditions. As a result, net injections into European storage ahead of the 2026–2027 heating season must total at least 68 billion cubic meters to meet the target. A year earlier, Europe achieved around 55 billion cubic meters.

The current summer season is expected to be marked by higher fuel prices due to increased competition for liquefied natural gas (LNG) between Europe and Asia amid heightened tensions in the Middle East. Gazprom has forecast that Europe’s storage levels may fail to reach even 70% ahead of the next heating season.

By Jeyhun Aghazada