EU Reduces Gas Withdrawal From Underground Gas Storage Facilities - Operators

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st January, 2023) European companies have reduced gas withdrawal from its underground gas storage facilities (UGS), while the volume of electricity generation from wind power plants has exceeded the average annual figures 1.5 times, the data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) and the WindEurope association showed on Tuesday.

As of January 29, European UGS were filled by 73.23%, which is about 20 percentage points higher than the average for the same day in the previous five years, according to the GIE. At the same time, gas reserves in European UGS amounted to about 79.7 billion cubic meters, the data showed.

Meanwhile, the European Union has boosted the energy generation at the wind power plants, which accounted for 23.

7% of the total daily volume on January 30. This is 1.5 times higher than the annual average figure of 15%, according to the WindEurope.

The share of wind power generation in Europe impacts gas consumption and gas futures prices, reducing the demand for gas. Exchange gas prices in Europe continue to remain at a level slightly above $600 per 1,000 cubic meters, compared to $980-1,100 in late January 2022. The decline in gas prices in 2023 can be attributed to the cooling of the market due to a high occupancy rate for underground storage facilities, a decrease in gas demand due to austerity measures and warm windy weather in autumn and the first half of winter.