Although Germany has its own sources of gas, it procures a large majority of the gas it needs from abroad. Germany's geographical location at the centre of Europe also allows it to function as a gas hub.

The assessment of imports and exports is based on the physical gas flows that enter and exit Germany at cross-border interconnection points, as reported daily by the TSOs to the Bundesnetzagentur. It is possible that, because of the infrastructure in place, recorded import and export volumes may also include loop flows*.
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*One example of loop flows is volumes of gas that leave Germany at the Olbernhau cross-border interconnection point using the GAZELLE gas pipeline and then re-enter the German network at the Waidhaus cross-border interconnection point. These volumes are excluded to avoid them being counted twice.