Europe has plough a surprising corner in preparation for the continent ’s much - discussedimpending energy crisis . The European Union now has more liquify natural gasolene than it needs , harmonize to paper fromBloombergandthe New York Times .
Ports are reportedly indorse up , with tankard ship waiting to offload their flatulency supply to countries already loaded with fuel , say the NYT . The E.U. ’s gas warehousing has reached 93.6 % capacitance overall , with Germany storage at 97.5 % full , according to Bloomberg . And lifelike natural gas prices have fall to their low spirit level since June , according tothe Financial Times , and presently sit at levels less than a third of what they were during August ’s record peak .
The U - turn follows month of belligerent global gaseous state implication by Europe , in response to Russian fuel gash . A fall warm spell , which has think of small - than - usual energy need , is also part responsible for for Europe ’s gas recovery . The tender atmospheric condition isforecast to continuethrough winter .
Natural gas is stored in massive spherical containers in the Europoort industrial area of Rotterdam.Photo:Rudmer Zwerver(Shutterstock)
Normally , the E.U. rely on instinctive gasolene forsomewhere betweenone - fifthandone - thirdof its energy . And in 2020,more than 40%of that gasoline was imported from Russia , fit in to Eurostat .
But this year , Russia ’s on-going state of war in Ukraine put a power play on the E.U. ’s DOE supply . Amid the conflict and Russian terror of slashed shipment , the bloc of nationsvowed to reduce their consumptionof Russian fuel in March . Russia reply bydoubling down in the summerand cutting its E.U. gas exports further .
Then , the Nord Stream word of mouth failed , releasinga record amountof satellite - warming methane and stopping the elementary flow of liquefied natural gas ( LNG ) from Russia to Germany totally . The line leaksare widely suspectedto be the result of intentional sabotage , andmultiple European investigationsdetermined explosions were set near the pipe . Europe has blame Russia , Russia has abnegate those allegations and in twist find fault “ the West . ”
In lieu of its standard provision , Europe bridged some of its Department of Energy indigence with renewables but alsoturned back to coal . And the E.U. looked further abroad to spell liquefied born gas . Prices skyrocketed , draw in throttle exporter to the axis — the United States , Qatar , and other countries ( Russia include ) all sent large shipments via boat , accord to NYT .
mate with warm weather , the E.U. ’s fast-growing stockpiling scheme appear to have worked , for now — stave off the terror of energy shortages . However , near - capacity nowdoesn’t guarantee enoughsupply later . Even Germany ’s very full storage is only enough to fulfill demand for about two calendar month of winter atmospheric condition , according to Bloomberg . “ The test will get along when we have the first insensate snatch and store set forth to empty , ” say Jonathan Stern , the founder of the gas program at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies , to the NYT .
Multiple outlets reported that Europe will need to continue bring in innate gas through the winter to defend against thing like dangerous cold - conditions blackouts . And the recent lower costs for LNG in the E.U. might make that a challenge . concede , as NYT pointed out , the current natural gasoline price is still “ historically elevated , ” so much so that the European Commission isconsidering imposinga terms cap .
Regardless , the on-going imbalance of Europe ’s fossil fuel highlights the need for a shift to renewable energy . On top of theobvious climate change downsidesto burning gas and fossil oil , LNG is not a honest energy source in a difference - replete world . The E.U. has n’t been able-bodied to reach out energy independence via fossil fuels , yet a diversified and sustainable get-up-and-go grid could ensurecheap and reliable domesticelectricity .
Chemical substancesEnergy developmentFuel gasFuelsIndustrial gases
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