BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 15. Europe will reach 90 percent of gas storage target by November 2023, Trend reports via the European Commission.
The lasts report issued by the Commission reveals that gas storage filling levels reached 61 percent by early May 2023, significantly above 2022 levels (37 percent) and above multi-year average (2016-20 average at 43 percent).
“In the summer months of 2022, the gas storage levels caught up with the 2017-21 average and continued increasing thereafter. With a peak at 95 percent in November 2022, storage levels exceeded the mandatory filling target of 80 percent for 2022. Since then, the reduction in storage levels during the winter months remained moderate, when the drop in storage, especially in January, was small compared to previous years. Moving towards the winter 2023/24, this should facilitate reaching the 90 percent gas storage target by 1 November 2023. The EU recently agreed to extend the voluntary 15 percent gas demand reduction target by another year (until 31 March 2024),” reads the report.
The Commission notes that compliance with the regulation should support the filling of gas storages, keeping prices down and securing enough energy supplies.
“If the observed gas demand reduction is sustained, the Commission baseline scenario estimates that storage levels reach 95 bcm by the end of October 2023, and thereby will be above the 90% storage target, and 43 bcm by the end of March 2024, leaving a comfortable level of spare gas left coming out of next winter. If, however, the EU does not keep the 15% gas demand reduction over the next year (compared to the 2017-21 period), storage levels could decline to rather low levels at the end of winter 2024.”
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