Europe’s gas reserves drop below 50% as France struggles to meet target
As of February 10, Europe's natural gas storage occupancy has dropped below 50%, a sharp decline from the 67% recorded during the same period last year.
According to data compiled from Gas Infrastructure Europe, France, one of the biggest energy consumers in the region, has the lowest natural gas storage occupancy rate in the EU at 29.85%, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Thus, France remains below the 41% target set by the European Commission.
Among the non-EU countries, natural gas occupancy rate in Ukraine and the UK is recorded at 9.33% and 25.73%, respectively.
While Portugal's gas storage is full, followed by Sweden with 88% and Spain with 69%.
EU countries, which consume over 400 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas annually, halted natural gas purchase from Russia due to the war in Ukraine. Also, the natural gas transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine expired on Dec. 31, 2024.
According to data published by the Ukrainian government for the end of 2023, the amount of Russian gas transported to Europe via pipelines fell by 28.4% last year compared to 2022, down to 14.6 bcm.
To enhance energy security, EU countries turned to liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports and implemented steps on efficiency.
Storage levels are closely monitored amid concerns that the market may shrink this summer as Europe needs more gas to replenish its dwindling reserves.
Due to geopolitical developments and the concern surrounding natural gas storage levels in Europe, the price of natural gas rose to a two-year high of €58.75 per megawatt-hour in March futures contracts traded on TTF, the Netherlands-based virtual natural gas trading point with the highest depth in Europe.
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