Without natural gas storage there would be no warm apartment in winter: they are usually full during the heating season. However, the storage facilities are currently emptier than usual. Is there a supply bottleneck?
Winter is far from over, but the levels in the natural gas storage facilities in Germany are still very low. On Tuesday, they were only about 45 percent full, according to an overview of European storage companies.
For comparison: exactly three years ago, on January 18, 2019, the value was 70 percent, and on January 18, 2020 it was even 93 percent of the storage capacity. Since the beginning of May 2021, the filling levels have been well below the comparative values since recording began in 2011, says Sebastian Bleschke from the industry association of storage companies, the Energy Storage Initiative (INES).
What are the memories used for?
They compensate for fluctuations in gas consumption and thus form a kind of buffer system for the gas market. How well they are filled depends on the time of year: the storage tanks are usually well filled when the heating season begins in autumn; in November 2018, for example, the level was almost 90 percent. It then decreases by spring. At the end of March 2019, it was 54 percent at the end of the so-called storage year. Without storage, the supply would not work on cold days when everyone turns up their heating, emphasizes Bleschke. According to the information, the storage facilities then deliver up to 60 percent of the gas consumed in Germany.
How many gas storage facilities does Germany have?
According to the INES industry association, there are 47 underground storage facilities operated by around 25 companies. Two types of storage are used: cavern storage in salt domes, where the gas is stored in cavities, and pore storage, where the gas is stored in permeable rock. The share of German gas storage in the capacities of the European Union is around a quarter. The Russian state-owned company Gazprom also operates two storage facilities in Germany via a subsidiary, including the largest in Germany in Rehden, Lower Saxony. It accounts for around a fifth of Germany’s storage capacity. Its level has been very low for many months. On Tuesday it was a good five percent.
Does the gas used in this country come from storage?
No, but the storage supplements the ongoing gas supply from pipeline imports. According to the Federal Association of German Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), natural gas consumption in Germany in 2021 was 1003 terawatt hours. For comparison: According to INES, German gas storage facilities can currently store a maximum of 255 terawatt hours of natural gas. There is no strategic reserve for natural gas like there is for oil, which is supposed to absorb a complete failure of all imports for three months in an emergency. According to Fabian Huneke from the consulting firm Energy Brainpool, the amount of gas currently stored corresponds roughly to the consumption of a winter month.
Why is the level so low?
The industry association INES cites several reasons: April 2021 was unusually cold, so that a lot of gas was withdrawn again at the beginning of the refilling season. Then, unlike in previous years, prices went up in the summer. The gas market therefore reacted cautiously and did not store as much, says Bleschke.
The consulting firm Energy Brainpool also sees an important reason in the behavior of the Russian gas producer Gazprom. “The gas flows across the German borders are unusually low for this time of year – with the exception of Nord Stream 1, which are constantly high,” says Fabian Huneke. It is surprising that against the background of high prices and high demand, the gas supply capacities to Europe are so little used. “If Gazprom behaved in a market-rational manner, they would also increase gas supplies to Europe through the pipelines that go through Belarus and Ukraine.” The energy market expert sees the reason for this behavior in the Ukraine crisis.
Is Russia the only gas supplier?
No, but by far the biggest. According to the monitoring report by the Federal Network Agency and the Federal Cartel Office, a good two-thirds of the gas imported into Germany came from Russia in 2020. A good 20 percent came from Norway and just under 12 percent from the Netherlands. It should be noted that Germany is also a transit country: around 45 percent of the available gas volume passed through Germany in 2020. And natural gas is also produced in Germany. In 2020, the amount was a good 5 percent of domestic natural gas consumption.
Is there a supply bottleneck?
At least experts don’t want to rule that out. “As long as Russian gas deliveries to Europe continue at the normal or slightly below-average level, no supply bottlenecks are to be expected and an energy price crisis will remain,” says Fabian Huneke from the consulting firm Energy Brainpool. “If Russian gas supplies stop or almost stop, it will also become a volume crisis.”
However, because of the lack of foreign exchange, the Russian state budget would then face a kind of supply bottleneck, Bleschke continued. However, there is currently no evidence that the Russian gas producer Gazprom is not fulfilling its contracts. Bleschke also considers the failure of all Russian gas supplies to be “very unlikely”.
“We are monitoring the situation on the gas market very closely,” said a spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of Economics on request. “The security of supply in Germany is still guaranteed.” The federal government also has no indication of breaches of contract. “According to our information, the long-term supply contracts will be complied with.”
What can politics do?
At the moment, the state’s options in this area are still very limited, said Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck to the “Spiegel”. The winter has shown that Germany with reduced stocks is more susceptible to price fluctuations and geopolitical tensions. “That’s why we have to improve the options for making provisions for next winter so that the gas storage tanks are well filled,” said the Green politician. “I see that as a political task.”
If there are no gas deliveries from Russia, Habeck believes it is possible to switch to other sources of supply. The newly created EU landing capacities for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the Netherlands, Poland and Italy are only 30 percent utilised. “If you were to increase it to 100 percent, it would be possible in terms of capacity to handle large parts of the imports via LNG.” But the question of price has not yet been taken into account.
Source From: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
