Dutch Gas Reserves Hit Ten-Year Low as Government Sets Plan to Refill Stores Before Next Winter
With reserves at just 5.8%, the lowest recorded since tracking began, the Dutch government and state energy company EBN are preparing to step in where commercial markets may not, backed by a loan facility of up to 21.6 billion euros.
Dutch underground gas storage fell to 5.8 percent in late March, the lowest level on record since Gasunie began tracking in 2016 and the lowest of any EU country. The refilling season officially began on 1 April, and the government has put in place an unusually extensive plan to ensure the stores are full enough before the next heating season.
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Why the reserves are this low
Two factors combined to produce an exceptionally empty starting position. First, the winter of 2025 to 2026 was colder than recent years, leading to higher-than-normal withdrawals from storage. Second, and more structurally, GasTerra, the company that previously had exclusive rights to fill the Norg and Grijpskerk storage sites in Groningen and Drenthe, wound down its operations and delivered both sites essentially empty by 1 April. The government informed parliament of this in September 2025, noting that GasTerra would cease its operational activities entirely by October 2026, meaning neither site would be refilled by GasTerra this season or in future years.
The five underground storage sites are Norg, Grijpskerk, Alkmaar, Bergermeer and Zuidwending. By late March, Norg, Grijpskerk and Alkmaar were each below 1 percent capacity. The previous low on record was 6.19 percent in March 2018, and at the start of November 2025 the combined level stood above 70 percent.
The national refilling target
The government has set a national refilling target of 115 terawatt hours stored across the seasonal sites and the Alkmaar facility combined by 1 November 2026. This target was adopted following advice from gas transmission system operator GTS, which assesses annually how much gas needs to be in storage to reliably meet peak winter demand.
By comparison, the target for 1 November 2025 was 110 terawatt hours. That target was missed: only 102 terawatt hours were in the seasonal stores by that date, partly because high gas prices in October made it commercially attractive for market parties to extract gas rather than continue injecting it.
How the government plans to achieve it
The refilling approach relies on a combination of commercial market activity and direct government intervention through state energy company Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN), which holds a 40 percent stake in all Dutch gas storage facilities on behalf of the state.
EBN's mandate to fill storage where the market falls short has been substantially expanded for the 2026 to 2027 storage year, from 25 terawatt hours the previous season to a maximum of 80 terawatt hours, covering Bergermeer, Norg and Grijpskerk combined. This expansion is directly linked to GasTerra's withdrawal from the two northern sites.
To finance this, the Ministry of Finance has made a loan facility of up to 21.6 billion euros available to EBN. Part of this covers the cost of purchasing gas itself, and part covers so-called margin calls, which are additional security deposits that trading exchanges can demand on a daily basis when gas prices rise sharply. Because these calls can come at any time, EBN needs rapid access to funds.
The government noted that whether it is commercially attractive for market parties to buy and store gas this season depends heavily on the spread between the current purchase price and the price at which gas can be sold forward for the winter. With gas prices elevated due to the Middle East conflict, that spread is uncertain, and commercial appetite to buy at current prices may be limited.
The future of Norg and Grijpskerk
With GasTerra gone, the long-term future of the two largest Dutch gas stores for low-calorific gas is unresolved. Talks are ongoing between the government, NAM and its shareholders Shell and ExxonMobil about how the Norg and Grijpskerk sites will be operated and potentially filled by other parties after GasTerra's departure. If commercial parties can fill these sites through other arrangements, EBN's full mandate may not need to be used.
A first step toward a strategic emergency reserve has also been taken: EBN has permission to begin building a small buffer of 5 terawatt hours at the Alkmaar site, to be used only in situations of physical shortage where markets can no longer provide, and only when an emergency has been formally declared under EU regulations. This reserve cannot be used to influence gas prices.
