EU gas storage passes 60% full but still lags recent years: GIE

Natural gas storage across the European Union has surpassed 60% full, the latest data from Gas Infrastructure Europe showed, but continues to lag levels seen in recent years amid sustained supply disruptions and pricing headwinds associated with the ongoing war in the Middle East.

EU gas stocks were 60.8% full as of Aug. 15, according to the most recent GIE figures, with stocks having surpassed the 60% threshold Aug. 13. The fill is lower on a percent basis at this time than any of the five years prior.

The EU has struggled to fill gas stores amid diminished LNG imports as the global market continues to manage the loss of Qatari exports. Since the start of the year, the EU has brought in some 63.6 million metric tons of LNG (about 87.7 billion cubic meters of gas), according to data from S&P Global Energy CERA. This is down about 4.1% compared with the same span in 2025, which saw EU imports hit roughly 66.3 million mt.

Europe has also struggled with persistently backwardated forward curves that have sapped the financial incentive for market players to buy gas in warmer months to sell for a profit in colder ones.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed the month-ahead Dutch TTF gas benchmark at €60.68/megawatt-hour Aug. 14, a premium of €1.65/MWh against the Winter 2026 assessment.

Storage struggles persist despite diminished targets

Early in the Iran war, the European Commission pushed for member states to lower their gas stocking targets to 80%, from 90%, to temper potential price rises by easing demand via flexibilities allowed under the EU's latest gas storage regulation.

However, market watchers have recently been skeptical the EU will reach even this diminished goal across the remainder of the filling season.

Andy Sommer, the head of energy market analysis and meteorology with energy group Axpo, said Aug. 10 it would likely be "difficult" for storage use to reach "well above 70% by November."

CERA analysts said Aug. 6 they projected European gas storage to reach 75% full by the end of October.

Germany is a major focus among EU member states as the final weeks of the filling season approach. The EU's biggest economy also boasts its largest gas storage capabilities. German facilities can hold some 246.5 TWh of gas (roughly 23.3 billion cubic meters), according to GIE. This is about 22% of total EU gas storage capacity.

German stocking continued to trail wider EU rates, with its sites just below 50% full, per GIE. The German energy ministry told Platts last week that it continues to see gas stocking as a job for market players and pushed against the possibility of government intervention to spur more filling.

German storage operator SEFE storage managed to allocate all 5 TWh of capacity it had offered at its Rehden storage site in an auction last week — a shift from other recent auctions, when it struggled to allocate volumes. However, the capacity in the latest auction was offered via a new options product that only requires users to pay most of the fees associated with the capacity if the volumes are actually used.