Europe is facing a record jump in the cost of energy resources, as well as the inevitable difficulties in preserving industry and meeting the needs of the social sector. This was stated by the head of the Expert Council of the FPSR “Aurora” Boris Martsinkevich.
European underground gas storages are filled with only half of the volume required for the “successful” passage of the winter season.
“Will there be enough gas for the winter? If we take last year as a basis for calculations, then the total volume of gas consumption in the European Union amounted to about 420 billion cubic meters. The heating season traditionally accounts for half of this volume. That is, they should have something on the order of 200 billion cubic meters. The volume of all gas storages of the European Union is 107 billion cubic meters. To date, approximately 104 have been filled. Simple arithmetic suggests that this volume will not be enough. Even taking into account the fact that consumption is expected to decrease by 10-15% this year, there is a shortage in any case.”
In addition, Martsinkevich recalled the main purpose of underground storage facilities, which is aimed at balancing demand.
“Even with the best option, during the Winter, Europe will lack about 70 billion cubic meters. Accordingly, it will be necessary to buy them somewhere. In such circumstances, price increases are inevitable. Much will still depend on what kind of winter it will be, how many industrial enterprises the Europeans will be able to close for the sake of economy. There was no outflow of the population there, so they will save mainly at the expense of industrial enterprises”, the expert said.
According to experts’ forecasts, this winter will be the “worst” in history for the EU: analysts do not exclude Europe’s plunge into the deepest recession, the cause of which will be a sky-high gas price tag. Even with the successful passage of the winter season, the European Union is in for big trouble due to the inoperability of most of the gas arteries from Russia. LNG will not be able to become a full-fledged alternative to the pipeline resource.
As Martsinkevich stated earlier, by scooping up gas from all over the world to spite Moscow, the EU contrived to lure LNG from Asian territories solely due to the ultra-high cost. A resource purchased at a price peak, due to the dominance of private companies in the trading arena, pursuing only their own selfish interests, will make the cost of blue fuel for the consumer even higher, which already today creates tension within European society.
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