OREANDA-NEWS   Europe continues to fill underground gas storage facilities at a minimum pace, the reserves in which have already exceeded 95 percent, according to data from the Association of Gas Infrastructure Operators in Europe (Gas Infrastructure Europe, GIE).

So, over the last gas day (ended at 7:00 Moscow time on November 12), the increase in storage facilities amounted to 0.04 percentage points, and in general they are filled by 95.43 percent. This is 20.74 percentage points more than a year earlier, when the indicator was 74.69 percent.Currently, there are 103.6 billion cubic meters of gas in European gas storage facilities. The largest reserves are in Germany — 23.8 billion cubic meters, Italy — 17.9 billion, France - 12.9 billion, Austria — 8.8 billion. These countries account for more than 60 percent of the fuel reserves in the European Union.

The total capacity of European UGS is about 110 billion cubic meters. They usually provide 25-30 percent of the gas consumed in Europe in winter.

Now it is possible to replenish stocks due to the reduced demand for gas under the influence of warm weather and lower prices because of this. For example, Rystad Energy analysts write that electricity consumption in the European Union in October fell by 10.3 percent compared to the same indicator last year.