Memory sufficiently filled
Association: Gas price explosion unlikely at the moment
Europe freezes – and turns on the heating. The result: an above-average amount is withdrawn from the gas storage facilities. But the European Gas Association sees no reason to worry.
The persistent low temperatures in Europe are causing gas consumption to rise. However, from the perspective of the European gas infrastructure association GIE, a bottleneck and a sharp increase in gas prices are currently not expected. The association based in Brussels said that gas withdrawal from the storage facilities is currently above the 10-year average. Nevertheless, the filling levels are still relatively high and comfortable.
Prices would fluctuate more if the storage facilities were empty – and thus the dependence on imports would increase. “Now it is easier to combine imports and withdrawals from warehouses, which is beneficial for consumers.”
Germany has large storage capacity
As data from the association shows, the gas storage facilities in Europe were recently filled to 62.6 percent (as of Friday evening). The storage facilities in Germany had a filling level of 67.4 percent. In Germany in particular, there is a large storage capacity, which helps to balance prices and ensure security of supply, the association said. The storage facilities are also well filled in Italy, Poland and Austria.
According to the association, the reasons for the above-average gas withdrawal from the storage facilities are the currently low temperatures across Europe and the transit stop of Russian gas through Ukraine since the beginning of the year.
Even if it is cold for a long time, the association currently sees no reason to worry
However, nothing unexpected has happened so far, according to the GIE. Even if the cold spell lasts longer, Europe’s gas supply will still be guaranteed. “The only disadvantage would be a lower than predicted level in the storage facilities.” A filling level of 30 percent could be reached in March, which would “involve increased attention to refilling the storage facilities next summer.”
While previously it was generally possible to buy gas at cheaper prices in the summer than in the winter, the opposite trend has recently been observed, with gas prices sometimes being higher for the summer months than for the winter months. The association warned that next summer it must be ensured that similarly high levels are reached for the following winter.
As announced, Ukraine stopped transiting Russian gas at the beginning of the year. A corresponding contract expired. The EU country Slovakia, which is heavily dependent on Russian gas supplies, sharply criticizes the end of the transit. The GIE now said that with a view to infrastructure and data, the country should not have any problems with security of supply.
dpa
Source: Stern
