Brussels -The supplies offered are almost triple the demand in the first round of the EU’s joint medium-term gas purchases that closed yesterday and attracted offers for a total volume of 97.4 billion cubic meters of gas to meet an aggregate demand from 19 European companies of 34 billion cubic meters of gas. The supplies offered are almost three times the demand. European Commission energy spokesman Tim McPhie announced this at the daily press briefing in Brussels. For the first time since the establishment of the EU’s joint procurement platform, Brussels launched this year a ‘medium-term tender’ in which buyers can apply for seasonal periods of six months, for up to five years, from April 2024 to October 2029.
The call for international bids remained open Monday and Tuesday (Feb. 26 to Feb. 27). “Today is another positive milestone for the work of the EU Energy Platform. Through coordination and cooperation, we are boosting Europe’s energy security in the face of a challenging geopolitical context,” said Executive Vice President for the Green Deal, Maros Sefcovic. “The bids surpass the collective demand – in fact they are almost three times the level! This is a remarkable outcome.” Four rounds of joint purchases were launched last year, from April to December, in which the European AggregateEu platform met more than 42 billion cubic meters of gas to cover European demand. Compared to the four rounds in 2023, joint purchase volumes resumed growing. The first round closed in mid-May with bids for more than 13 billion cubic meters of gas, against a total demand of 11.6 billion cubic meters requested by EU companies. Applications and bids were matched for about 10.9 billion cubic meters of gas between EU member states and Ukraine, Moldova, and the Western Balkans that joined the joint procurement platform. The second tender closed on July 10, with a total of 25 international suppliers responding with bids for 15.19 billion cubic meters of gas to meet the aggregate European demand of 15.92 billion cubic meters.
The third tender opened in September and closed against a demand of 16.49 billion cubic meters of gas and supply bids of 18.1 billion cubic meters. Finally, the last tender closed in early December with 9.13 billion cubic meters of bids in response to an aggregate European demand of 10.06 billion cubic meters (with matched volumes of 7.35 billion cubic meters). European energy ministers in December extended for one more year the gas solidarity regulation that forms the legal basis for the platform that expired at the end of last year.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
