A majority of the present EU countries had inland UGS facilities (underground as well as above ground) available already in the year 2000 or earlier. It is expected that almost all EU countries will have one or more UGS facilities available in the year 2010.

In Romania and Russia, the number of UGS plants is expected to increase by some 50% during this decade. In Turkey, the first two UGS plants are planned to be available between 2005 and 2010.

The expansion of UGS facilities is based on the necessity to balance the load factor of the gas supply with the load factor of the market, in some countries as well as creating a buffer for sufficient security of supply. The available capacities differ from specific (market) conditions in each region or country. In order to keep the gas market as efficiently as possible, available capacities and the related investment decisions should be the responsibilities of the market and especially of those stakeholders who take the financial risks.

The overall investment level in UGS projects in Europe is expected to be more than one billion Euros per year until the end of this decade.

This graph shows the overall development of the available UGS working gas volume (in bcm) in Europe (source: Cedigaz and IEA). Growth is diminishing, together with available gas reserves in the EU, while demand is growing. This might influence the Security of Supply in the EU area.