China led global underground gas storage expansion in 2025, adding 6 billion cubic metres (bcm) in working gas volume to boost its total capacity to 19.8 bcm, the International Gas Union (IGU) said in a report released on Monday.
This helped lift global underground gas storage capacity to 424 bcm, up 10 bcm from 2022, with China – contributing the single largest gain – in sixth place behind leader United States with 138 bcm then Russia, Ukraine, Canada and Germany.
Working gas volume refers to the volume of natural gas that can be actively injected into and withdrawn from storage facilities to meet demand. It excludes the base gas required to maintain reservoir pressure.
While storage capacity in North America and Europe saw slight increases, Asia – mainly driven by China’s strategic policy shift from coal to gas – stands out as the only region experiencing robust storage growth, IGU said in the report.
“While this expansion is expected to continue in the future, infrastructure development is still lagging behind the pace of the region’s growing gas consumption,” it said.
China and Turkey are developing storages at a rapid pace, while Japan has increased capacity at one site and resumed operation at another, the industry body said.
Regional differences in underground gas storage development reflect the maturity of gas infrastructure, which is shaped by evolving gas demand, IGU said.
It said the number of operational underground gas storage facilities worldwide stands at 699 as of 2025, with the vast majority developed in depleted natural gas fields.
(Reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Christopher Cushing)