epa09928199 Pipes and valves at the overground site of  underground gas storage Incukalns (Incukalns UGS), near Ragana, Latvia, 05 May 2022. According to the unified natural gas transmission and storage company 'JSC Conexus Baltic Grid', the firm is the only functional storage in the Baltic countries. The 'Incukalns UGS' storage facility had a capacity of 4.47 billion cubic meters, from which 2.32 billion cubic meters were active or constantly pumped natural gas. In case of rising consumption of natural gas in the region, Incukalns UGS capacity can be increased up to 3.2 billion cubic meters of active natural gas, which will fully ensure Latvia's and the nearby region needs for fuel. Latvia has a unique, concentrated geological structure, which allows to create natural gas storages at least in 11 locations, with a total capacity of up to 50 billion cubic meters. That is about 10 percent of the annual consumption of the European Union and about the same as the total storage capacity across the European Union. Storage is possible because, in the deeps of Latvian soil there is a layer of porous sandstone, which has good storage properties and which is coated with gas-tight rock layers, also these geological structures are placed at optimal level of 700-800 meters deep, allowing safe and cost-efficient storage of gas.  EPA/TOMS KALNINS