Gas injection into Europe’s storage facilities falls 13% in May, reserves at five-year low

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Gas injection into Europe's underground storage facilities fell by 13% year-on-year in May, leaving reserves at their lowest level for this period in five years, according to TASS calculations based on data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). At the end of May, storage facilities were 40.5% full, down from 48.3% a year earlier, and contained roughly 44.3 billion cubic meters of gas.

The slower refill pace extends into June, with injection rates 20% lower than last year, as reported by TASS. By mid-June, European storage facilities were about 45% full, compared with approximately 54% a year earlier. Throughout the spring and early summer, storage levels have consistently remained 14 or more percentage points below the five-year average for the corresponding dates.

Coverage Comparison

The reporting, provided by TASS in a series of updates from late May through early July, consistently attributes the slow storage refill to higher fuel prices. TASS identifies the Middle East conflict, particularly the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as the primary driver of higher prices, which have intensified competition with Asia for available liquefied natural gas (LNG) volumes. The agency quotes Gazprom, the Russian gas holding, which forecasts that reserves may not reach even 70% by the next heating season.

The reports track the cumulative net injections since the start of the summer season in April, noting they exceeded 13 billion cubic meters in early June, then 15, 16, 17, 19, and finally 20 billion cubic meters by June 22. Storage fullness levels correspondingly rose from just under 40% in late May to 46.4% by late June.

Key Claims

• Gas injection into European underground storage facilities fell by 13% year-on-year in May, with storage levels at a five-year low for the date (TASS, based on GIE data).
• June injection rates were 20% lower than the same month last year, and total injections since the start of June were down 16% year-on-year by late June (TASS calculations).
• As of late June, storage facilities were 46.4% full, 14.53 percentage points below the five-year average for the date, and containing 50.7 billion cubic meters of gas (TASS calculations).
• European storage levels have been consistently below year-earlier levels: 36.99% on May 20, 40% at end of May, 42.5% in early June, 45.03% on June 17, and 48.62% in early July (as reported at various dates).
• The European Commission requires EU countries to ensure storage facilities are 90% full between October 1 and December 1 each year, with a 10% flexibility margin allowed in difficult conditions (European Commission requirement cited by TASS).
• Net injections ahead of the 2026-2027 winter must reach at least 68 billion cubic meters to meet the target; a year earlier, Europe achieved only about 55 billion (TASS calculations).
• The average gas price in Europe rose by more than one-third this spring compared with the same period last year, reaching about $582 per 1,000 cubic meters (TASS, based on ICE data).
• Gas prices in the first half of 2026 rose 11% year-on-year to $515 per 1,000 cubic meters; June prices were 22% higher than June 2025 (TASS).
• Gas injection rates into underground storage in Germany and France are at their lowest since 2013, and Germany's largest storage, Rehden, was only 4.2% filled as of May 22 (Gazprom, as quoted by TASS).
• Gas injection by EU countries into storage was at a historic low for the second half of May, with injection indicators between May 18-20 the lowest for the period since records began in 2011 (TASS calculations).