The European Union has accumulated record amounts of natural gas in its storage facilities and has done so ahead of its own schedule. The news about the advanced fill-up of storage caverns was first announced in August by Brussels with understandable pride. In mid-August, storage was full at 90%, which was the November target. But energy suppliers did not stop there because, as of early October, gas storage in the EU is close to 100% full.
Meanwhile, demand for gas in the European Union has declined by between 10% and 15% over the past 12 months thanks to government efforts—and prices. According to Reuters’s John Kemp, there is little chance for a recovery in demand given that it has remained subdued this year as well, despite greater supply security. Just how vulnerable Europe’s supply of gas is was demonstrated recently by price movements amid the labor dispute at Chevron’s Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG projects in Australia.