Belgium’s Gas Reserves at 25% as Europe Faces Tense Winter

Belgium’s natural gas storage facilities are only a quarter full, standing at approximately 25% capacity in mid-July 2026 — a level that has not been seen since the depths of the 2022 European energy crisis. With just over four months until the winter heating season peaks, the critically low reserves have triggered alarm among energy analysts and raised questions about Europe’s preparedness for the months ahead.

According to De Morgen, the Loenhout underground storage facility in Wuustwezel, Antwerp province — operated by Fluxys Belgium — holds approximately 1.8 TWh of gas against a total capacity of 7.6 TWh. This is enough to supply roughly 450,000 households for a year, but the current fill level is less than half of what it was at the same time last year, when reserves stood at 62.21%.

A Broader European Problem

Belgium’s predicament is not isolated. Across the European Union, gas storage was just 28% full at the start of the summer injection season on 1 April 2026 — the lowest starting point in four years. As of early July, EU-wide storage sits at approximately 49%, a level comparable to 2021, before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine triggered a continent-wide energy crisis.

In response to the slow refill, the European Commission in March relaxed its mandatory storage target from 90% fill by 1 November to 80% by 1 December 2026. Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen explained the move as an effort to avoid panic buying and price spikes that could destabilize already fragile markets. As VRT NWS reported, Jørgensen wrote to member states urging them to begin filling “slowly but steadily” to avoid a rush on gas later in the summer.

“Everything has to do with the temporary nature of the phenomenon we are seeing today,” energy consultant Dieter Jong explained on Radio 1. “After the 2022 crisis, a lot was invested in LNG capacity. That will largely come to market in 2026-2027. Until a few weeks ago, there was even a fear of structural oversupply, but now we’re facing shortages.”

Geopolitical Storms

The current crisis is driven by a confluence of geopolitical shocks. The war in Iran, which began in early 2026, has disrupted energy supplies from the Middle East. On-off closures of the Strait of Hormuz — a critical chokepoint for global LNG shipments — have redirected cargoes to higher-paying Asian markets, leaving European buyers scrambling.

At the same time, the EU’s REPowerEU regulation has phased out short-term Russian LNG contracts (from 25 April 2026) and short-term Russian pipeline gas contracts (from 17 June 2026), further tightening available supply. “One step at a time, we are phasing out all remaining imports of Russian gas from our energy system,” Jørgensen said. “And the goal is clear: getting to zero.”

Energy economist Johan Albrecht of Ghent University urged perspective. “The gas price has naturally risen sharply since the start of the war in Iran,” he told VRT NWS. “But don’t forget: the gas price had fallen sharply in 2025. Actually, we’re now only slightly higher than the level of January 2025.”

Market Dynamics and the Injection Challenge

The slow pace of refilling is not merely a supply problem — it is also a market one. The summer-winter price spread, which provides the profit incentive for traders to inject gas into storage, has turned unfavorable. With TTF gas prices at approximately €47.375/MWh and Asian buyers outcompeting Europe for LNG cargoes, private storage operators have little financial motivation to act.

Fluxys, the Belgian gas network operator, has sought to calm nerves. A spokesperson told Belga that “a gas supplier has started filling booked capacity” and that “in principle, the Belgian gas reserve can be filled in three months.” However, simultaneous withdrawals have kept net storage levels flat, and analysts warn that the window for injection is narrowing.

Ronald Pinto, energy analyst at Kpler, noted that “stronger LNG demand in Asia has translated into lower LNG imports into the EU 27. Despite European underground gas storage levels remaining around 10 percentage points below last year’s levels, European buyers have not aggressively bid for additional LNG supply.”

Belgium’s Infrastructure Advantage

Despite the alarming headline figures, Belgium is not without options. The country has direct pipeline connections to the UK and Norway, as well as the Zeebrugge LNG terminal — a major import and redistribution hub for Northwestern Europe. Belgium’s storage capacity is modest — only about 5% of annual demand — but its role as a transit country provides access to gas flows destined for neighboring states.

As Dieter Jong explained: “Our gas storage is also small compared to the rest of Europe. In Europe we store about 1,100 TWh of gas. With us, that’s only about 8 TWh. But Belgium is a transit country for other countries. The reasoning is that if gas is imported through our country, we will always be able to use some of that gas.”

The Consumer Dimension

The situation has drawn sharp criticism from advocacy groups. On the same day as the De Morgen report, Greenpeace Belgium published a report revealing that Belgian households pay up to 15 times more in gas excise taxes per MWh than large industrial consumers. The federal government provided between €5.7 billion and €7.4 billion in energy and climate subsidies to industry in 2024.

“Before our governments ask new efforts from households, they must cut the gifts to big polluters and invest that money in a just transition,” said Mathieu Soete, energy transition lead at Greenpeace Belgium.

What Lies Ahead

The European Commission’s ACER agency has calculated that the EU will need LNG imports to increase by approximately 13% over 2025 levels to reach the original 90% storage target. The relaxed 80% target by 1 December remains achievable with 2025 import levels, but only if injection rates accelerate significantly in the coming weeks.

For Belgian consumers, the risks are real. Matthias Detremmerie, energy buyer at Elindus, warned that if the 80% target is not met, “government subsidies may be introduced. Those subsidies would then possibly end up on the consumer’s bill through higher taxes or distribution tariffs.”

New LNG capacity expected to come online in 2026-2027 could provide structural relief, but the timing remains uncertain. In the meantime, Europe — and Belgium in particular — faces a race against time to fill its gas reserves before the winter winds arrive. Whether the 80% target will be met depends on a volatile mix of geopolitics, market forces, and the severity of the coming cold season.