Gas storage sites globally have started the heating season with stocks just above their five-year average, which should ensure supply security, IEA analyst Greg Molnar said via LinkedIn.

• EU storage sites are 95% full, with inventories exceeding 100 bcm, around 5 bcm over the give-year average, but 4 bcm below 2023 levels.
• “A return to average weather conditions, limited LNG supply growth and the halt of the Ukrainian transit route could leave EU storage sites at 30-40% fill levels by the end of March 2025,” Molnar said. This would boost injection demand and then support summer gas prices.
• In the USA, sites are now nearing 110 bcm, about 6% above the five-year average, with the storage hubs in the Midwest and East at 95% full.
• The US can also benefit from Canada’s large storage sites, with inventory levels in Alberta now above nameplate capacity.
• In China, gas storage data is limited, but underground storage has expanded to over 2.5 bcm in 2024, leaving 25 bcm of storage levels by the start of heating season.
• China is also building up LNG storage tank capabilities which have shorter lead times.