European gas storage falling fast, on course to end the heating season with only 10% left in storage

Gas storage in Europe continues to fall at worrying rates, suggesting storage levels will drop to their lowest level in ten years of around 10% by the end of the heating in the last week of March.

Storage levels of gas peaked this year at a level of 77.5% on October 22 when European tanks held 864.8 TWh worth of gas, according to AGSI+ aggregated gas storage inventory – the lowest level in volume terms since 2013 and its lowest level in percentage terms for a decade.

With November already the coldest in five years Europe has already draw significant amounts of gas as the heating season gets under way and storage levels have fallen to 64% as of December 8 – the same level as of January 13, 2020.

Last year storage peaked on October 11, when the tanks were 95.8% full following a mild winter in 2019, so not only are gas storage depletion levels running about a month ahead of last year, but last year tanks held some 20% more gas.

In 2020 the storage bottomed out on March 24, with tanks holding 30% of their capacity. If this year follows the same trends as last year the heating season will end in the last week of March 2022 with tanks only 10% full – their lowest level in a decade.