Germany begins filling western Europe's biggest gas storage site

Germany has started filling the huge Rehden gas storage facility abandoned by Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM), the site's state-appointed manager said on Thursday, as Europe's biggest economy looks to guard against the risk of Moscow turning off supplies.

Russian gas is vital to Europe and Germany in particular. But supplies have been thrown into doubt by Western sanctions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and a looming deadline set by Russia for payments in roubles, which most buyers have rejected.
Gazprom last month ditched its Gazprom Germania business, including western Europe's biggest gas storage site at Rehden, as diplomatic relations deteriorated. read more

"From today, small volumes are being injected," Egbert Laege, the trustee appointed by Germany's energy regulator to temporarily manage the company, told Reuters in his first interview in the role.

"We are working intensively on solutions to ensure that already soon significantly more gas can flow into the storage facility."