Cold weather has gripped much of northwestern Europe, which could see supplies fall further in the coming days due to increased use of gas for heating.
Europe is using up gas reserves at the fastest pace in seven years as cold weather increases heating needs. Temperatures are expected to drop again this week. Bloomberg reported this on Monday, January 6.
Underground gas storage facilities, which act as a buffer against limited supplies, are only 70% full, down from about 86% last year. While there is no shortage of gas, the rapid depletion of supplies could make it difficult to replace storage before the next heating season and affect short-term prices.
Storage fill levels are down 25 percentage points from their peak, the biggest drop since 2018, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe.
The weather has turned colder in much of northwestern Europe, which could lead to further off-gassing in the coming days due to increased heating use. The continent is increasingly dependent on the global liquefied natural gas market to fill shortages caused by the cutoff of Russian gas supplies through Ukraine.
Unscheduled shutdowns at top suppliers can affect the region’s delicate balance and lead to price fluctuations. For example, in Norway, the Hammerfest LNG plant stopped working due to a compressor failure, and will only resume operations on January 9.
Prices rose 4% last week to near their highest level in 14 months due to lower inventories and tight supply.
It was previously reported that the EU is now depleting its gas reserves at the fastest pace since the energy crisis three years ago.
We remind you that Germany has banned ports from receiving tankers with Russian gas.
Source: korrespondent
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