MOSCOW, October 3. /TASS/. European countries continue to register record-low fill levels at their underground gas storage facilities ahead of a difficult autumn-winter season, Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller said.

"European Union countries continue steadily setting historic record lows in the gas sector ahead of a difficult autumn-winter season," the holding company quoted him as saying.

According to Gazprom, gas reserves in Europe’s underground storage facilities remain below previous significant lows. The facilities were 72% full as of October 1, with active gas inventories 11.3 bln cubic meters lower than a year earlier.

TASS previously reported that Europe had accumulated the lowest volume of gas in its underground storage facilities since records began in 2011 by the traditional start of the heating season in October. EU countries may have their storage facilities only 70-75% full by the traditional start of the autumn-winter season, an all-time low for the beginning of the heating period.

Under European Commission requirements, EU countries must ensure that their gas storage facilities reach 90% capacity between October 1 and December 1 each year. The rules allow for 10% flexibility when storage-filling conditions are difficult.

To meet the target, net injections into European storage facilities must total at least 68 bln cubic meters by the beginning of the 2026-2027 autumn-winter season. Europe has so far injected only 70% of the volume needed for the coming winter, or 48 bln cubic meters.