The cutoff of most Russian pipeline gas because of the war in Ukraine has sparked a winter energy crisis in Europe.
Russian deliveries were close to normal for the first half of the year.
The country has since turned off all but a trickle of gas, and even that could be unavailable next year.
On top of that, if China’s imports of LNG recover to 2021 levels, that could consume over 85 percent of the expected increase in global supply.
That all means Europe could face a shortfall of 30 billion cubic meters of gas next summer, the key period for filling supplies ahead of the winter heating season, when there is stronger demand for the fuel.
The figure represents almost half the gas required to fill storage facilities in Europe to 95 percent capacity before the 2023-2024 winter starts.
European Union governments have committed to reduce gas consumption by 15 percent over the winter and are pushing conservation and renewables.
He claimed an intervention on prices “was urgent, now it’s almost too late”.
To make things worse, the International Energy Agency said in a report Thursday that Europe could face a severe natural gas shortage next year and needs to act now to reduce use, warning against complacency in an energy crisis triggered by Russia’s war in Ukraine after countries were able to build up a storage of the fuel to heat homes and generate electricity this winter.
The IEA said Europe benefited from some Russian gas supplies over the summer and sharply reduced competition from China for scarce shiploads of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, and those factors could be one-offs, the Paris-based organisation said.
Along with mild weather, that has pushed down natural gas prices from August highs.
The above summary was derived from the story linked below
Source: French energy giant chief warns Brussels’ inaction on gas prices will ‘destroy EU market’
