![]() ![]() That volatility could mean more upward moves in European prices, and reflects the fact that Europe now has fewer options to procure more gas should it need to. “As such, the risk of price volatility, particularly in the event of a cold winter, is cause for concern.” “The increase in LNG supply was not enough to offset the sharp declines in deliveries of pipeline gas from Russia to Europe,” the IEA said in October. Soeren Stache/picture alliance/dpa/Getty Images The EU has ramped up imports of LNG since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. And even before that surge, they were still almost double their historical average for the time of year. Prices on commodity markets in the region have shot up 28% in the past month. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said last month that it expected demand for the fuel in “mature markets” - comprising Europe, North America and parts of Asia - to fall 1% every year till the end of 2026 as countries expand their renewable energy sectors and became more energy-efficient.īut while gas shortages are unlikely in Europe this winter, the price of the fuel remains a worry. Longer-term trends also mean that Europe’s gas needs are gradually declining. It has passed at least one test with flying colors, earning a score of 99% - that’s how full the bloc’s gas storage facilities were Thursday, which is comfortably above the 90% level the EU’s executive body instructed member states to reach by the start of November, when the heating season begins in earnest. But it has boosted imports of piped and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from elsewhere, fast-tracked the approval and construction of LNG infrastructure, and urged its citizens to cut their energy consumption - and all in the 20 months since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The bloc of 27 nations, heavily dependent on gas imports, once relied on Russia for around half of those inflows. By many measures, the European Union has succeeded in its goal to break its dependence on Russia’s natural gas, avoiding the fuel shortages and blackouts many had feared at the height of last winter’s energy crisis.
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