European gas operators: “Stock up now, war in Iran is reducing LNG supplies”

Brussels – Act quickly and be prepared to dig deep into your pockets: the European Union’s approach to securing gas reserves hinges on these two recommendations, which serve as a wake-up call. This message comes from the European Network of Gas Transmission System Operators (ENTSOG), in the market outlook report. The state of the EU’s health? Not the best, according to the assessment provided by Piotr Kuś, Director General of ENTSOG: “Europe is preparing to face the summer injection season with a much lower level of reserves than in recent years, at a time when the Global energy markets and supply are under pressure” due to the US and Israeli war in Iran. 

Given the situation, therefore, “it is essential to start injecting gas as soon as possible, even as early as April, and to continue until November, to
provide greater flexibility to fill storages ahead of the next winter season,” Kus continues. This is also because, as the report by the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSO-G) highlights, precisely due to lower levels of energy reserves, ”
To replenish gas storage in preparation for the upcoming winter, Europe would require
higher LNG imports than previously observed, alongside increased utilisation of gas
infrastructure.” 

This is where the real warning for the EU comes in: “The escalating conflict in the Persian Gulf is tightening global LNG
availability and constraining the ability to refill storages.” The European Union must therefore hurry to secure whatever the market allows to be delivered. In this race, the main obstacle is likely to be the President of the United States, Donald Trump. After halting all purchases of Russian gas in response to the invasion of Ukraine, the EU began buying US LNG in huge quantities, but in a different political context, when Euro-Atlantic relations were well established. Now the occupant of the White House is far more unpredictable and ready to issue threats of all kinds, be it tariffs or withdrawal from NATO. Like it or not, the EU will have to deal with this, as ENTSOG warns: “Coordinating maintenance schedules, and maintaining
operational flexibility in storage and import capacity are essential to avoid risk of
insufficient storage levels and support system flexibility.”