German gas storage sites hit 45pc fill level

German gas storage sites reached a 45pc fill level last week, but slow net injections have stalled the country's stockbuild as tight price differentials diverted supply away from Germany.

Net injections averaged 461 GWh/d on 11-17 July, broadly unchanged on the week but well below the three-year average of 680 GWh/d for the period. Combined German storage sites held 112TWh as of Sunday morning, a 45pc fill level, below the 2023-25 average of 189TWh, GIE transparency platform data show. Net injections bottomed out on 17 July at just 109GWh — the slowest stockbuild for any day since firms net withdrew 83GWh on 20 May.

The country is not on track to meet its 70pc fill target by 1 November, although it could technically do so as companies have booked around 76pc of Germany's storage capacity, GIE transparency data show. Firms would need to inject 583 GWh/d to hit the target, well above the past two-week pace and the 388 GWh/d 2023-25 average rate. To fill sites to booked capacity, as recommended by storage association Ines, net injections would need to average 725 GWh/d until the deadline.

Injections slowed as Germany received less supply from Norway and the Netherlands for a second consecutive week. Germany imported 1.07 TWh/d from Norway on 11-17 July, unchanged from a week earlier but down from 1.2 TWh/d in the period last year. Norway has been diverting supply away from Germany to the Netherlands as tight TTF-THE differentials favoured quicker flows to the Dutch market. Dutch-German exports remained subdued at an average of 387 GWh/d, up from 348 GWh/d a week earlier but well below 629 GWh/d a year earlier.

Tight differentials with the Belgian ZTP have weighed on Belgian-German flows (see table). Imports from Belgium averaged 604 GWh/d on 11-17 July, down from 650 GWh/d a week earlier. Inflows from Belgium were 662 on 11-17 July 2025.

But German exports to eastern Europe and Italy have not slowed despite reduced supply. Flows to the Czech Republic averaged 274 GWh/d last week, easing from 278 GWh/d the week before and 400 GWh/d a year earlier. Combined flows to Austria were 287 GWh/d, edging down on the week from 291 GWh/d. A widening Italian PSV premium to the THE has led to higher German flows to Italy via Switzerland of 178 GWh/d on 11-17 July from 57 GWh/d a week earlier.

The German government has signalled a strong preference against intervention, but market area manager THE retains authority to step in if market-based filling becomes impossible. THE would intervene only at the "point of no return" — when it becomes clear that the market will definitely not meet targets.

By Alejandro Moreano

Storage movements and flows GWh/d

Norwegian exports to Germany and the Netherlands GWh/d