EU Slows Down Gas Reserves Filling in September, Some Member States Start Offtake

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The European Union has slackened the pace of gas intake into underground storage facilities by 13.5% in September compared to August, while some member states take out more fuel than they pump, according to preliminary data of the Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE).

As of now, the EU has accumulated 90 billion cubic meters of gas in total. The underground gas storage facilities are 83.27% full, with an average daily increase of 0.28 percentage points. The alliance reached its target occupancy rate of 80% in late August.

On certain days since September 1, Belgium, Denmark and Poland drew more gas from their storage facilities than what they pumped there.

The heating season in Europe is due to start in mid-October, although last year it was pushed until November. Meanwhile, gas storage facilities account for 25-30% of all gas consumed in Europe in winter, the European Commission said this summer.

At the same time, gas deliveries from Russia remain quite limited, given that Nord Stream 1, the main pipeline supplying Europe with Russian natural gas, is still out of operation due to technical malfunctions, while Ukraine keeps rejecting gas transit through the Sokhranovka entry point. Sudzha remains the only station pumping Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine.