Gas reserves in European UGS facilities on 10/08/2019

As of October 8, there are already four countries in Europe that have completely filled their gas storage facilities (UGS), namely: Austria, Poland, Portugal and France. European underground gas storage facilities filled by 97.6% according to ASGI +. This suggests that the continent is ready for winter.

Countries with the largest gas storages:

• Germany – 21.4 billion cubic meters (filled by 98.6% of the total capacity);
• Ukraine – 20.3 billion cubic meters (65.4%);
• Italy – 18.3 billion cubic meters (97.4%);
• France – 12.4 billion cubic meters (100%);
• The Netherlands – 12.3 billion cubic meters (99.1%).

Comparing these volumes with last year's on a similar date, all countries without exception increased their natural gas reserves:

• Germany + 17.3%;
• Ukraine + 23.7%;
• Italy + 2.2%;
• France + 7.5%;
• The Netherlands + 6.7%.

It is worth noting that on October 7, a representative of the Romanian regulator announced a plan to increase the capacity of gas storages. Under the project, UGS volumes will increase from the current 3.1 billion cubic meters of gas up to 6 billion cubic meters, which is equal to half the annual consumption of natural gas in Romania. The implementation of the plan will take about 3 years and will cost €3.36 billion.

Over the past 9 years, the volumes of natural gas in Ukrainian underground storage facilities are the largest. This achievement was caused by a number of factors: a favorable market situation, preparation for the possible termination of gas transit, preparation for the heating season.