Gas reserves in EU storage facilities will last for two months in the absence of supplies.

The current volume of gas in underground storage facilities in the European Union, in the absence of new supplies, would be enough for about two months of consumption under average winter demand, RIA Novosti calculated based on data from the European platform Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) and gas consumption statistics in the EU.

European underground storage facilities are currently less than 73% full. The total capacity of EU storage facilities is about 104 billion cubic meters, containing about 75-76 billion cubic meters of gas. GIE estimates the total capacity of European underground gas storage facilities at approximately 1.13 thousand TWh.

Given the average winter gas consumption in the EU of about 1.1-1.3 billion cubic meters per day, current reserves would be enough for 60-70 days. The calculation is conditional and shows the ratio of available reserves and winter demand. The European Commission itself points out that storage facilities usually provide about a third of the EU's winter consumption, and during periods of high demand they become one of the main sources of supply.

The main external sources of gas for the European Union in winter also remain pipeline supplies, primarily from Norway, and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The European infrastructure is capable of accepting about 145 billion cubic meters of LNG during the winter season, which can partially compensate for the lower level of reserves, but for this it is necessary to ensure sufficient volumes of gas on the world market, noted the European network of gas transmission system operators ENTSOG.

The current level of reserves is noticeably lower than in recent years. In October 2023, European storage facilities were more than 99% full by this time, in October 2024 - more than 90%, and on October 1, 2025 - 83%.

However, the European Commission and EU countries concluded earlier this year that 80% storage capacity would likely be sufficient to ensure supplies through the coming winter. At the end of September, the EC acknowledged that stock levels remained below historical levels, but said that gas supplies in the European Union remained stable for now.

The day before, the European Commission for the first time formulated the situation much more harshly, directly warning about the difficult coming winter. “We are heading into a very difficult winter in terms of energy prices,” European Commission spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said at a briefing.

The EC associated the risks primarily with “significant and ongoing tensions in global oil and gas markets.” Against this background, the European Commission, in particular, decided to postpone for a year the entry into force of new import requirements as part of the European regulation for reducing methane emissions into the atmosphere.