EU without immediate risk of gas supply despite low reserves

“ Adespite the fact that gas storage levels are lower than in previous years, the Member States and the European Commission consider that there is currently no immediate risk to the security of gas supply in the EU,” states the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy in a statement.

The evaluation was carried out during a meeting of the Gas Coordination Group, which brought together experts from the Community executive and countries to examine the energy market situation and the preparation for next winter.

According to Brussels, the EU is “more prepared” than in 2021 and 2022, due to greater diversification of sources of supply, increased import capacity for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and reduced demand for gas, in comparison with the current energy crisis with the previous ones.

“ Based on historical projections, the EU is on the right track to achieve an adequate level of preparation for winter. In the current circumstances, the Commission considers that there is no reason to intervene,” he said.

The institution ensures that “the EU gas system is resilient enough to cope with lower storage levels during the coming winter.

However, the international situation remains uncertain.

“In general, the situation in the Middle East remains unstable and Qatar’s LNG production remains suspended. More recently, heat waves in Europe have increased demand for gas for electricity production,” the European Commission reports.

The Middle East remains unstable and Qatar's LNG production is still suspended, while recent heat waves in Europe have contributed to increasing gas consumption for electricity production.

Such geopolitical instability continues to cause strong volatility in energy prices and, for this reason, Brussels “will continue to monitor the situation very closely, in cooperation with the Member States and the interested parties”, he says.

A new meeting of the Gas Coordination Group is scheduled for September 24.

Data made available on the Internet by the association representing gas infrastructure operators in Europe (Gas Infrastructure Europe) show that on Wednesday (most recent information), the gas reserves in the EU were filled in at 65.85%.

Portugal – which is one of the 18 EU countries with gas storage – is the exception, since it has one of the highest reserves in the EU, 93.08% after Poland (94.25%).

Still, underground storage in salt cavities in Portugal is small compared to the rest of Europe, from about three to four terawatt-hours.

The energy crisis worsened following the war with Iran, which affected energy flows in the Middle East and caused greater pressure and volatility in international gas and oil markets.

The impact was particularly felt on the European market, given the disturbance in the region's LNG exports.

The escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, a region crucial for the global supply of fossil fuels, is causing a sharp rise in prices.

Currently, the EU has rules for gas storage that dictate that all countries have to reach 90% filling between October 1 and December 1 before the cold season.