OREANDA-NEWS. Gas prices in Europe could rise significantly as the region needs to pump record volumes of fuel into underground gas storages (UGS). This was reported in the official Telegram channel of Gazprom.

“In order to replenish gas reserves in European storage facilities by next winter, it will be necessary to pump in such significant volumes of gas that have never been pumped in one summer season. This will have a significant impact on the price of gas in the market,” the report says.

Gazprom added that by March 7, 2022, the European region had already taken 49.5 billion cubic meters of gas from storage facilities. The total balance for all UGS facilities in Europe is 27% of the total storage capacity. At the same time, underground storage facilities in Germany are empty by 74.4%, and France - by 80.3%. In addition, gas withdrawals in Europe may last until mid-April.

Given the huge consumption of Europeans, the current volume is a serious challenge for the region. In addition, the total volume of gas available in the European market is highly dependent on demand in the Asian market, which is only growing.

Earlier Wednesday, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that the European Union had bought enough gas until the end of the cold weather so as not to depend on supplies from Russia.