EU Takes More Gas Than Puts In Storage Facilities - Operator

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd October, 2022) Gas offtake from the European underground gas storage facilities (UGS) has exceeded the input for the first time since spring, driven by Belgium tapping all of its gas reserves within last 24 hours, according to preliminary data from the Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) association.

European UGS are filled by 87.83%, containing over 95 billion cubic meters of gas, as of the gas day on September 30, which ended at 04:00 GMT on October 1, according to the GIE. The gas input rate has been declining for the sixth day in a row to 0.51 percentage points per day, the lowest in the last six months.

The decrease is caused by Belgium almost completely emptying its only underground gas storage facility, with the offtake totaling 92.

09 percentage points, GIE data showed.

The new heating season in Europe is due to start in mid-October, although last year it was pushed until November. At the same time, gas deliveries from Russia remain limited given that the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 offshore pipelines in the Baltic Sea were damaged by explosions and rendered inoperative earlier this week. The Swedish and Danish authorities said they discovered gas leaks caused by undersea explosions, with the consensus being that the incident was a result of sabotage.