Underground Gas Storage

2022 witnessed a notable increase in UGS capacity, largely driven by the global gas crisis which emphasized the importance of storage for supply security. By the end of 2022, the working gas capacity reached 429 billion cubic meters, a 1.3% rise from the previous year, with significant contributions from China and Europe. The peak withdrawal rate also rose by 1.7%.

The storage market remains concentrated, but China’s UGS sees an accelerating growth

The storage market is largely concentrated in a few countries, with the United States, Russia, Ukraine, Canada, and Germany holding 68% of global capacities. However, there’s a growing focus on expanding storage in rapidly developing markets like China and the Middle East.

Key UGS metrics in the world remained virtually unchanged in 2021

Seven new storage facilities were commissioned, six of which were in China and one in Sharjah. These new capacities were largely offset by declines in the main storage markets. Overall, the global number of storage facilities, working gas capacity and peak withdrawal rates remained virtually unchanged year-on-year.

… but interest in UGS is growing, as evidenced by a growing pipeline of new projects and expansions totalling 133 bcm of working capacity

While the UGS market remains highly concentrated, with 5 countries (United States, Russia, Ukraine, Canada and Germany) accounting for almost 70% of global storage capacities, there is a clear shift of storage activity towards new, fast growing gas markets, China and the Middle East notably.