Gazprom calls for increased European gas injection
Europe will need to inject 57.3% more gas into storage this year than in 2020 given the significant volume that was removed during the withdrawal season that ended on March 25, Gazprom has warned.
A total of 65.6bn m3 of gas was removed from underground gas storage facilities in the 2020-2021 withdrawal season in Europe, representing the largest volume since data disclosures began in 2011, Gazprom said in a statement on April 5. Gas inventories are currently at only 29% capacity, with reserves down to 26% in Germany and Austria, 23% in the Netherlands and 17% in France.
"In view of the above, the latest injection campaign at the UGS facilities is likely to become one of the largest since 2011 and a key factor for increased gas demand in the European market," Gazprom said.
The Russian company, Europe's biggest gas supplier. saw its exports to non-former Soviet states surge 30.7% year on year in the first quarter of 2021 to 52.7bn m3, on the back of unusually cold weather.