Europe struggles to reach 75% gas storage capacity despite increased LNG imports

MOSCOW, October 30. /TASS/. European countries increased liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports to record levels for this time of year in late October, but still cannot fill their underground gas storage facilities (UGS) to even 75% of capacity ahead of winter, according to TASS calculations based on data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE).

Since the start of the summer injection season in April 2026, Europe has managed to inject only 75.5% of the gas volumes required to meet the winter storage target, or 51 bln cubic meters, into its UGS facilities.

Meanwhile, several countries have been recording net withdrawals (with withdrawal volumes exceeding injections) from European underground gas storage facilities for the second consecutive week, signaling the gradual start of the heating season in the region.

As of October 28, European UGS facilities were 74.89% full (14.79 percentage points below the five-year average for that date), compared with 82.8% a year earlier. This remains the lowest level recorded for that date since monitoring began in 2011. EU storage facilities currently hold approximately 82 bln cubic meters of gas, 9.4 bln cubic meters less than a year earlier and the lowest volume since 2013. Gazprom previously forecast that European UGS inventories might not even reach 75%, warning that the region faces a difficult fall-winter season.

TASS previously reported that Europe risks entering the heating season with record-low gas reserves. By the traditional start of the fall-winter period, EU countries may have filled their storage facilities to just 70-75%, which would mark the lowest level ever recorded at the beginning of a heating season.

Under European Commission requirements, EU countries must ensure that their gas storage facilities are 90% full between October 1 and December 1 each year. A 10-percentage-point flexibility margin is permitted in the event of difficult storage-filling conditions. Accordingly, net injections into European storage facilities ahead of the 2026-2027 fall-winter period must total at least 68 bln cubic meters to meet the required storage target. However, the European Commission, hoping for an exceptionally warm winter, is prepared to lower the target to 80% this year.