Gas extraction from underground storage facilities (UGS) in Europe has reached a maximum since February 2021 and exceeds 900 million cubic meters per day against the background of significant fall in temperature. The total reserves in the EU UGS dropped below 83%. The supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the region also increased slightly with a decrease in temperatures this week. The price of gas on the European stock exchange dropped to $350 per 1,000 cubic meters for the first time since September.
Gas extraction from the UGS of the EU countries on January 9, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), amounted to 935 million cubic meters. At the same time, the injection was only 5 million cubic meters.
The heating season in Europe began on November 7, 2023. (a week earlier than in the last autumn-winter season), and since that moment, the EU countries have taken about 21.5 billion cubic meters of gas from storage facilities. At the same time, the total gas extraction from UGS on the 64th day from the moment their maximum filling was reached was 3% higher than the average value for that day over the previous five years. The last gas extraction season from European underground storage facilities ended on April 7, 2023, when 55.47% of reserves remained in them.
Currently, Europe's UGS are 82.64% full (12.4 percentage points higher than the average for this date over the past five years), they contain 91 billion cubic meters of gas. European countries filled their underground storage facilities with gas by the target 90% for the heating season back in mid-August, and by the beginning of the selection season they had accumulated a record 99.63% in them.
The weather during the current week in Central and Western Europe turns out to be much colder than in the previous seven days. In the first half of the week, the temperature was stable in the negative zone. The share of wind generation in the EU's electricity generation dropped to 21% in January.
LNG shipments from terminals to the European gas transportation system decreased compared to December. Currently, the capacity of regasification of liquefied gas and its further injection into pipelines in Europe is loaded at 65% of the maximum. The average gas purchase price in December in Europe was $408 per 1,000 cubic meters, and in January it was about $363.
