Gazprom claims Europe's gas reserves are depleting

The overall level of gas reserves in Europe’s underground gas storage facilities have dropped to just 27%, claims Russian majority state-owned Gazprom Neft.

PHOTO: Rehden gas storage facility in Germany. Gazprom

Underground gas reserves in Germany are down to less than 26%, and France's are below 20%, it estimates.

Replenishing Europe's gas reserves by next winter will require a substantial amount of gas injections, more than has ever been injected in a single summer season before.

This will be challenging as technical capacity restrictions of these storage facilities force certain daily injection limits, Gazprom says.

Gazprom's cautionary comments come as EU countries have been mulling a ban on Russian oil and gas imports to cut cash flows to Russia's war chest. Russia is heavily reliant on export income from its vast petroleum reserves, being the world's second-biggest petroleum exporter, and having EU countries as key customers.

EU countries imported 45% of their gas from Russia last year, according to the International Energy Agency.

In the absence of any EU-wide backing for an import embargo on Russian gas, major European oil and gas firms including Shell have voiced intensions to exit some business partnerships with Gazprom and other Russian firms.

Gazprom, meanwhile, said earlier this week that gas continued to flow through its Ukraine pipeline to Europe at normal levels of 109.5 million cbm/day, according to Reuters.

Last week, Gazprom said westbound flows through the Yamal-Europe pipeline had resumed to supply Germany via Poland.