Consumption of gas from EU underground storage facilities accelerated as Europe suffered its first winter cold snap, bne IntelliNews informed.
As of 1 December, gas tanks were 85.5% full. In 2023 and 2022, storage levels stood at 94.8% and 92.3% respectively. However, the figure is still well above the 68.2% in 2021, when Europe was hit by a cold winter.
Normally, the heating season officially starts on 1 November, when EU rules state that reservoirs must be at least 90% full. However, uncertainty over the weather has already led to a 45% increase in gas prices since the start of the year, as tanks are emptying faster than in the previous two years.
This year’s situation is exacerbated by the fact that Ukraine’s gas transit agreement to supply 15 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas to the EU from Russia expires on 31 December. Kyiv, for its part, pledged not to extend the deal. Recently, Russian gas giant Gazprom published its investment plans for 2025, which also excluded the extension of the transit agreement with Ukraine.
Higher energy spending would raise the cost of living for consumers and worsen Europe’s looming recession, economists warned. Europe is already facing a crisis after Italy’s ex-prime minister and former head of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi warned in a report that Europe had lost its competitive edge.
While Europe is struggling to fill its gas storage facilities, Ukraine’s reservoirs are only 22.6% full, storing 6.5 bcm of gas. However, Ukrainian gas tanks are the largest in Europe, totalling more than 30 bcm, with 15 bcm still available for European partners.
Yet, foreign traders stayed on the sidelines, preferring not to store gas in Ukrainian reservoirs this year amid the threat of Russian strikes on the country’s energy infrastructure.
