Germany should be able to substantively fill its gas storage ahead of next winter – storage operators

Germany should be able to fill its gas storage units ahead of next winter, said the country’s gas storage operator association INES. “Even with reduced LNG import volumes and a complete halt of Russian gas deliveries via pipelines to Europe, a new extensive filling of the gas storage facilities is possible before the winter of 2023/24,” reads a press release from INES. However, the current moderate to high import volumes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as well as efforts to save gas would have to continue. The likelihood of a gas shortage this winter has also decreased further still, due to higher than anticipated temperatures and efforts to save gas. If consumers stick to saving gas as they have until now, Germany will not face a shortage this winter even if temperatures should become “extremely low”, said INES. The organisation presented updated scenarios for this and the coming winter and projected that, at normal temperatures, storage levels should not fall below filling levels of 65 percent of capacity this year.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany’s government set strict targets for gas storage filling levels earlier this year, which were reached ahead of schedule, despite Russia’s halting of direct pipeline supplies by the end of August. Storage units had been filled to around 100 percent by mid-November 2022, and are currently at around 91 percent, whilst the government aims to retain a filling level of 40 percent for the stores by 1 February this year.