Opinion

The clock is ticking on Europe's gas: barely 4 months to fill storage tanks before winter

With the Strait of Hormuz shut and storage only a third full, Europe has barely four months until Nov. 1  to refill its tanks before winter. And this year, for the first time since the 2022 crisis, the market alone will not do it. Across Europe, gas is pumped during spring and summer into vast underground reservoirs, mostly depleted gas fields, then drawn back out in winter as households turn up the heating. These stores are the continent's buffer against a cold snap or a sudden loss of supply.