Snam Says Italy on Track for 90% Gas Storage as EU Average Lags at 56%
At 75% fill, Italy leads the EU storage table by nearly 20 percentage points with the October compliance window two months away.
Italy's natural gas storage sites reached 75% of capacity as of Wednesday (2026-07-29), Snam chief executive Agostino Scornajenchi said when the company released its first-half financial results. Italy is on course to hit the EU's 90% winter target. But Scornajenchi paired that progress with an explicit warning: other member states need to move faster.7
Gas Infrastructure Europe data cited by Snam put the EU-wide average at 56% on the same date — nearly 20 percentage points behind Italy. With the October 1 compliance window two months out, ICE Endex TTF front-month gas settled at €58.16/MWh on Friday (2026-07-31).7
Europe entered this summer's refill season with storage at only 28% of capacity, according to Equinor executives cited by OilPrice.com, the consequence of a prolonged winter that emptied reserves across the continent. By late May (2026-05-24), the level had recovered to just 35-37%, still materially below the 50% seasonal norm, the same source reported.4
Germany illustrated the most acute pressure. Its storage sites were 30.6% full as of May 27 (2026-05-27), according to Gas Infrastructure Europe data, more than 8 percentage points below the 38.65% recorded at the same point in 2025. Uniper chief executive Michael Lewis warned publicly that Germany faced winter shortages if the fill rate did not accelerate, calling for government incentives in late May (2026-05-28).5
Italy's relative advantage stems from investments in energy security, Scornajenchi said, without detailing specifics. Under EU rules, member states must meet a 90% storage target between October 1 and December 1, with 5 percentage points of flexibility built into the mandate. At 75% and rising, Italy has that target well within reach.7,3
Others have turned to direct spending to close the gap. The Netherlands approved a subsidy of up to €993 million for state-owned EBN Capital BV, authorising it to store as much as 80 terawatt-hours of gas, Rigzone reported in June (2026-06-01). Dutch reserves had fallen to just 5.8% by the end of winter, the lowest level in a decade, according to OilPrice.com.6,4
Not everyone agrees mandatory targets are the right instrument. Energy Traders Europe's gas committee chairman told Montel that a European strategic reserve would be the "lesser of two evils" against the existing storage mandates, arguing the targets risk distorting market prices. That argument has found little traction in Brussels so far.3
European gas prices have risen by roughly 40% from pre-conflict levels, according to OilPrice.com, following Middle East hostilities and Strait of Hormuz disruptions. Iranian missile strikes on Qatari LNG production infrastructure removed around 20% of global LNG supply, the same source reported. A European Commission official, speaking in late May (2026-05-21), told Montel that market participants "should start early enough to avoid a late rush in refilling storage."5,1
Italy is also preparing a domestic backstop for its gas-fired generation fleet. The country's energy regulator has begun developing a compensation mechanism for gas-fired power plants facing elevated fuel costs, Montel reported in May (2026-05-21), pending European Commission approval.2
The October 1 (2026-10-01) compliance window opens in two months. Italy has built its buffer. For the EU to lift its 56% average to compliance without fully invoking the 5-percentage-point flexibility, August (2026-08) injection volumes across laggard markets need to match the pace Italy has already set.7,3