EU underground gas storage stood at 28.92% full (327 TWh) this week, according to GIE AGSI+ data. That is the lowest level for this point in the year since 2018, and six to twenty percentage points below the five-year seasonal average. Europe must now refill from a deficit while its two traditional safety valves, Russian pipeline gas and flexible LNG supply, are both impaired.
The country-level picture sharpens the risk. Germany, the EU's largest storage holder, sat at just 23% three days later. The Netherlands is at 5.5%, France at 24%. Only Spain (above half full) and Portugal (91.7%) sit comfortably, insulated by Iberian renewables and hydropower.
The seasonal context matters. In April 2022, the last comparable trough, storage touched 26% before a massive injection campaign and demand-reduction mandates pushed levels to 95% by November. But that spring, Russian pipeline gas was still flowing through Q2 and global LNG was not constrained by a Hormuz closure. Neither lever is available now. The refill arithmetic starts from a deeper deficit with fewer supply options.
