European gas reserves are decreasing at a record pace.

Fastest decline in gas reserves in the EU

Natural gas reserves in the European Union have decreased the fastest since the energy crisis, due to a drop in temperatures and reduced gas supplies. This information was published by the Financial Times.

According to Gas Infrastructure Europe, the volume of gas in European storages has decreased by 19% from the end of September to mid-December. This is an extremely critical situation compared to previous years when, due to warm weather and reduced industrial consumption, the reserves decreased more slowly due to high prices.

'This winter, Europe is relying much more on its underground storage than in the last two years to compensate for lower imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and meet the growing demand,' said Natasha Fielding, head of gas pricing in Europe at Argus Media.

The situation is complicated by growing competition for LNG from Asian countries offering low prices. This has led to a decrease in gas imports to Europe and forced EU countries to utilize their domestic reserves.

The last Time such a rapid decline in reserves was noticed was in December 2021 when Russia reduced gas supplies ahead of its invasion of Ukraine.

Currently, the storage fill level in the EU is 75%, slightly above the average of the last decades before European countries began to reduce imports of Russian gas. In December last year, the fill level was almost 90%.