Europe without buffers [Gas in Transition]

Europe without buffers [Gas in Transition]

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Natural Gas News
Europe without buffers [Gas in Transition]

Summary

Europe will remain greatly exposed to global LNG market volatility, energy experts Thierry Bros and Anne-Sophie Corbeau warned in NGW’s latest In a Nutshell podcast, as it has mostly lost its previous “buffers” against supply shocks. [Gas in Transition, Volume 3, Issue 9] by: NGW

The recent strike action at Australian liquefaction terminals this month that triggered a spike in LNG prices highlights how much volatility in the global gas market persists, Thierry Bros, professor at Sciences Po Paris, explained in NGW’s In a Nutshell podcast this month. The market is simply too tight, leaving it greatly exposed to such supply shocks. As far as Europe is concerned, prior to the conflict in Ukraine, most disruptions to global LNG supply were compensated for with extra Russian pipeline gas. Russia’s Gazprom, once responsible for 40% of European gas imports, would respond by stepping up supplies to its long-term contractual clients, or shifting more gas onto the spot market. This spare capacity provided Europe with a “buffer” against such supply shocks, Bros explained. This is, of course, no longer the case. In part du...