EU to plan for gas storage ahead of next heating season already now Commissioner
(MENAFN- Trend News Agency)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The EU can get through this winter safely, Kadri Simson, EU
energy commissioner, said at the press conference on the Energy
Council meeting, Trend reports.
“At the moment, gas flows from East to West continue, LNG
deliveries to the EU have increased significantly and the weather
forecast is favourable. The use of gas from storage has slowed down
and we are still around 30 percent of storage capacity filled.
Ministers have confirmed that their national and regional
preparedness plans are ready and updated,” she said.
Simson noted that risks remain.
“Following the measures taken by the EU and the international
community to sanction Russia, we cannot exclude that Russia will
take retaliatory steps that will impact energy trade. A full
disruption would be a challenge for us, but we have tools in place
to handle the implications. We discussed the potential for
additional or alternative gas supplies. We have already seen a
steep increase of LNG to Europe in January and February, with LNG
imports now around 10 bcm per month, the highest level ever in the
EU,” the commissioner explained.
She pointed out that increasing the amount of LNG further
requires EU-level coordination to maximize the use of
infrastructure and make sure that gas ends up where it's mostly
needed.
“To make this happen, I have announced that the Commission will
set up a platform and contact groups with relevant Member States
and LNG operators. In any case, we will reach the end of this
winter with an exceptionally low level of gas storage. If current
trends continue, our latest projection of storage for April is 18
percent, compared to over 30 percent the previous years. It is
imperative that we start already now to plan for a sufficient level
of gas storage ahead of the next heating season,” said Simson.
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