MOSCOW, June 3. /TASS/. The daily injection of natural gas into Europe’s underground gas storage (UGS) facilities has surpassed 0.5 bln cubic meters for the first time since May 2022, driven by warm weather and the urgency to accelerate storage filling ahead of the winter season, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). Meanwhile, imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by EU countries in May reached an all-time high.
According to GIE data, gas injection into EU storage facilities totaled 584 mln cubic meters on June 1. Withdrawals fell to 15 mln cubic meters. The overall volume of gas in storage currently stands at 53.6 bln cubic meters, making it only the sixth-highest level ever recorded at the beginning of June, representing a decrease of 30% compared to the previous year.
At present, European gas storage facilities are 48.86% full, which is 10.81 percentage points below the five-year average for this date, and down from 70.1% a year earlier. Under European Commission requirements, EU member states must ensure their gas storage facilities are 90% full by November 1 each year. This mandate is additionally fueling an increase in gas prices on the European market. According to TASS estimates, net gas injection by Europe during the upcoming storage-filling season must total no less than 61 bln cubic meters to meet the mandated storage level. This figure is nearly 50% higher than net injection last year and ranks among the highest volumes in recorded history.
Earlier, Gazprom warned of potential challenges for Europe in meeting its storage targets by winter. This summer, countries in the region will need significantly more gas to replenish reserves and, amid limited new capacity coming online, will face heightened competition for LNG from Asia, where demand for the fuel is rising. The Gas Exporting Countries Forum anticipates that the EU will face significant difficulties in achieving the 90% storage target by winter and forecasts that summer gas prices on the spot market will exceed winter levels, undermining the economic viability of storage injection.
The current week in Europe is expected to be considerably warmer than the previous one. In May, wind power accounted for an average of 15% of electricity generation across the EU. The average purchase price of gas in Europe in May was approximately $412 per 1,000 cubic meters.
LNG Imports
During the past heating season, Europe imported nearly 63 bln cubic meters of LNG, marking the third-highest volume for this period on record. Greater volumes of regasified gas entered the EU’s gas transmission system from LNG terminals only during the two previous winter seasons.
LNG imports by Europe in May reached an all-time high of 12.75 bln cubic meters. Current regasification capacity utilization stands at 53% of the maximum.