Gas reserves in Europe decreased by 40%, despite record LNG imports

In April, gas injection into Europe's underground storage facilities reached its highest level in the last three years, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). However, storage reserves are still 40% (27 billion cubic meters) below last year's level, despite record imports of liquefied natural gas.

On April 22, 259 million cubic meters of gas were pumped into storage facilities, while the extraction amounted to 28 million cubic meters. The injection was 4% higher than a year earlier, and the extraction was 22% lower. The volume of gas in UGS facilities at the end of April amounted to 41 billion cubic meters, which is 40% less than last year's level and is only the seventh highest figure in the entire history of observations. Storage occupancy is currently 37.53%, which is 10.35 percentage points lower than the average level over the past five years.

The European Commission requires filling UGS facilities to 90% by November 1, which will require pumping 61 billion cubic meters of gas – 50% more than a year earlier. During the last heating season, which ended on March 28, the EU countries took away more than 74 billion cubic meters of gas, which is 44% higher than last year. LNG imports in April exceeded 12.7 billion cubic meters, which is 22% more than in the same month last year. The regasification capacity is 60% loaded.