Germany’s gas storage has fallen below 60% full in early November, the lowest level for this time of year on record, as Europe enters winter with its thinnest reserves in more than a decade, according to gas industry data.
Data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), compiled through its Aggregated Gas Storage Inventory platform, showed German storage at about 59.54% full on November 6, down 0.43 percentage points from the previous day, according to reports. By November 7 the level had slipped further to 59.21%, according to one analysis of the GIE data. A year earlier, on November 6, 2025, German storage was 75.15% full.
Germany has the largest gas storage capacity in the European Union and is one of the region’s major energy consumers, holding roughly a fifth of the bloc’s total capacity. The decline matters because the country needs substantial supplies to power industry and electricity generation as well as heating systems during winter. Based on available capacity, German reserves on November 6 were estimated at about 147 terawatt-hours.
A record drawdown across Europe
Withdrawals from Europe’s underground storage facilities on Friday, November 6, set a record for that calendar date, according to Gazprom, citing GIE data. The volume withdrawn exceeded the previous record by 83 million cubic metres, or 23.9%, the Russian energy company said. Gazprom described Germany’s storage level falling below 60% as exceptional for early November.
EU-wide storage stood at around 74% of capacity at the start of the month and fell to 72.65% on November 8, according to GIE. Storage peaked this year at 74.96% on October 28, and stocks at the start of the heating season were at their lowest since 2013, according to the International Energy Agency. EU storage on November 7 was the lowest for that date since GIE’s series began in 2011, according to the analysis.
The contrast within Europe is sharp. Poland, Portugal and Italy entered winter with storage close to full — Italy at around 91% and Poland close to 100% — while Germany, Latvia and Slovakia sit well below the EU average, according to reports.
No shortage yet, but a policy row is growing
Low inventory does not yet mean Germany is facing a gas shortage. The German energy regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur, says supplies remain stable because the country also meets its needs through pipeline networks, liquefied natural gas terminals and international energy trading. Germany now has four state-owned LNG terminals plus two private terminals, officials point out.
But the shortfall has reignited a debate about how Germany fills its caverns. Germany entered the heating season at 61.05% full on November 2, the lowest recorded level for that period and well below the EU average of 74.56%, according to Reuters. It also missed its fill target — reports differ on whether the yardstick was an average of about 70% across sites or a national target of 80%, and this draft states both figures as reported rather than choosing between them.
The gas storage association INES says the failure shows the filling system must be strengthened, and it is pressing for a mandatory obligation on suppliers and a new national reserve to be built from 2027, holding about 24 billion kilowatt-hours and financed by a consumer levy, according to reports. European benchmark gas prices have roughly tripled since the start of 2026, according to Bloomberg reporting, and futures surged past 100 euros per megawatt-hour last week for the first time since 2022. A cold snap is expected across Germany and much of Europe in the coming days, with temperatures forecast 2 to 4 degrees Celsius below normal.
Sources: Reuters (via reports), Gas Infrastructure Europe (via reports), EU Perspectives, The Steel News, EUBizNews, AIM Wrap
