September the 28th, 2026 – Croatia continues to be in a very favourable position when it comes to gas reserves as autumn and then winter approach.
The Croatian Government has ordered the mandatory acceleration of gas stock filling so that the Okoli underground storage facility reaches the target level of at least 85 percent of capacity by October. Zrinka Gabelica Toplek reports for Poslovni that Croatia ended the summer with an enviable 73 percent gas storage fill level, placing it well above the EU average. While the rest of Europe is intensively preparing for the upcoming heating season, the situation across the continent varies considerably from country to country.
Nevertheless, joint European efforts are yielding results, as the EU average gas storage fill level stands at a solid 65 percent. At the very top of the ranking are Poland and Portugal, which already reached an excellent 93 percent of their capacity by the end of August. Neighbouring Italy also stands out with a high stock level of 83 percent. Croatia shares a high fourth place with Spain, as both countries have secured 73 percent of their stocks. Immediately behind them is France with 71 percent, while neighbouring Hungary records 69 percent and Austria 67 percent fill levels.
On the other hand, several key European economies are still lagging behind the average: Germany recorded only 53 percent storage fill at the end of summer, while Sweden and Slovakia secured exactly half of their capacity – just 50 percent. At the very bottom of the listed countries are the Netherlands with 47 percent and Latvia with 45 percent gas stocks.
This latest data suggest that Croatia is in a favourable position ahead of autumn and winter, but the overall picture at Union level shows that individual countries will have to accelerate the filling of gas storage in the coming weeks in order to achieve full energy security before the first serious cold spells. Although the current 73 percent fill level provides energy stability, the Croatian Government has ordered the mandatory acceleration of gas stock filling so that the Okoli underground storage facility reaches the target level of at least 85 percent of capacity by October, ahead of the official start of the heating season.
