Abnormal cold weather in Europe began to emaciate gas reserves in underground storage facilities, now 27.6 percent more fuel has been taken from there than last year, Gazprom calculated.

The Russian gas monopoly pointed out that it is about 55.5 billion cubic meters of gas. “The icy atmospheric front that covered Europe in February has led to the exhaustion of gas reserves in underground storage facilities. According to Gas Infrastructure Europe, gas reserves in European UGS facilities have fallen below 40 percent, although only 11 days ago the level was about 50 percent.” Gazprom concluded that the current situation will have a positive influence on the demand for Russian gas.

Earlier in February, it was revealed that the cold front, dubbed “The Beast from the East 2”, continues to ravage underground gas storage facilities in Europe. In the main gas market in Europe, Germany, reserves decreased to 34.17 percent, in Austria – to 45.28 percent, the Czech Republic – to 41.08 percent, Poland – to 52.27 percent. The biggest decline was in France: there stocks fell to 30.07 percent.