PNN – Since the start of the heating season, European countries have recorded a net withdrawal of over 2 billion cubic meters of gas from their underground storage facilities.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network—citing calculations by the TASS news agency based on data from Gas Infrastructure Europe—colder weather has led to an unprecedented surge in gas withdrawals from European underground storage sites during the first few days of November.
Since the heating season began on October 28, nearly 3 billion cubic meters of gas have been withdrawn from European storage facilities, with net withdrawals exceeding 2 billion cubic meters—a figure more than three times the five-year average.
Consequently, over the course of 10 days, European countries have consumed approximately 5 percent of the 51.2 billion cubic meters of gas that had been stored during the summer for the cold season.
As of November 6, Europe’s gas storage levels have reached 72.98 percent—16.63 percentage points below the five-year average and the lowest level recorded for this date since 2011. The volume of gas held in European Union storage facilities is estimated at approximately 80 billion cubic meters, which is 11.6 billion cubic meters less than last year.
The European Commission had requested that member states bring their gas storage levels to 90 percent of capacity by December 1; however, in light of forecasts for a mild winter, it was prepared to lower this year’s target to 80 percent.