Europe will enter winter with its lowest natural gas storage levels since 2013, the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced Tuesday, November 3, in a new report. EU gas stocks were only 75% full at the end of October, well below the EU-wide minimum filling target of 80%.
The total volume injected into storage during the filling season remained about 4% below the average of the past five years. This comes against a backdrop of already low stocks at the end of the previous winter. With the Strait of Hormuz still largely closed during the summer months, injections into EU storage accelerated in August, September and October, but without catching up to previous years' levels, the IEA continues.
In Europe, the German government assured on Monday that the country's gas supply remained secure for the coming winter, despite storage levels well below its regulatory targets. Tensions on the global gas market could continue into 2027, according to the agency.
This situation increases the region's dependence on global liquefied natural gas supplies to meet seasonal peak demand, the IEA writes in its statement. It could make the region particularly vulnerable if the coming winter is colder than expected, or in the event of technical incidents or other supply disruptions. EU countries could then find themselves particularly vulnerable, according to the report.