Experts expect the EU to fail to reach its target level of gas reserves by winter

Alexey Belogoryev, Research and Development Director of the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented to the Vedomosti newspaper on the current and future state of gas reserves in France’s and other EU countries’ underground gas storage facilities.

As of July 27, the occupancy rate of gas storage facilities in France is 54.7%. This is the lowest figure for this date since 2017. On average over the past five years, it has been 18 percentage points higher; last year, it was 20 percentage points higher. On average, for this time of year, gas reserves in France should be at the level of 75–80%, Alexey Belogoryev clarifies.

According to GIE statistics, France’s gas reserves in storage facilities currently amount to approximately 6.5 billion cubic meters. According to Belogoryev’s assessment, the active gas reserves in French underground gas storage facilities are now 2.4 billion cubic meters less than in 2025, which is equivalent to 16.5 days of gas consumption in the country during the winter months without temperature anomalies.

The current situation with gas reserves in France is somewhat worse than in the EU as a whole, but this is just a specific case of the common problem faced by the countries in the community, the expert notes.

Uneven gas injection into storage facilities across countries is a common phenomenon in the EU, but this year the UGSF fill level is higher than last year’s only in Denmark (60.8%) and Poland, Belogoryev notes. The reserves in the UGSFs of Hungary (59.1%), Latvia (45.2%), Italy, and Spain are at the level of the same date last year, he clarifies. In other countries, the reserves are lower than last year’s, the analyst comments.

According to Belogoryev’s assessment, the total active gas reserves in EU storage facilities amount to 57 billion cubic meters — this is the worst figure since 2021 and significantly below the long‑term average. Compared to the 2025 figure, reserves are 12 billion cubic meters (17 %) lower; compared to the 2024 figure, they are 29.5 billion cubic meters (34 %) lower, he clarifies.

The insufficient volume of reserves in EU storage facilities ahead of the heating season creates significant risks for the reliable gas supply of European consumers this coming winter, Gazprom has stated. Belogoryev also draws attention to these risks.