EU Gas Storage Falls to 60.8% 5-Year Low as Mideast LNG Disruption Lifts Prices
Updated
Updated · Daily Sabah · Aug 18
EU Gas Storage Falls to 60.8% 5-Year Low as Mideast LNG Disruption Lifts Prices
3 articles · Updated · Daily Sabah · Aug 18
Summary
EU gas storage was 60.8% full on Aug. 17, down from 73.6% a year earlier and the lowest mid-August level in five years, leaving the bloc on course to miss its winter stockpiling goal.
Analysts now see storage reaching only 75%-77% by Nov. 1, far below the nominal 90% target; even 80% would require about 5.2 bcm of extra gas, or roughly 50 additional LNG cargoes.
Middle East supply disruption is expected to cap LNG availability through year-end, while Asian buyers from Japan to India compete for flexible cargoes and squeeze Europe out of some Atlantic Basin supply.
That tighter market has pushed the September Dutch TTF contract to 62.11 euros per MWh, up 103% from a year earlier, as weak summer-winter spreads had earlier discouraged storage injections.
Qatari LNG outages have directly hit Italy, Poland and Belgium since early April, and with pipeline flexibility limited, Europe is likely to rely on high prices, lower demand and any supply recovery to rebuild stocks.