2023-10-09 13:17:40
It’s a certainty. France is better equipped this winter than the previous one to stock up on gas and export to European neighbors, even if tensions remain possible at the end of winter in the event of a late cold snap, gas managers indicated on Monday, October 9. GRTgaz and Teréga gas transmission network. “Analyses show that this year the French network has the capacity to ensure the necessary supplies to fuel consumption and exports, including in the event of a cold winter,” estimate the two main managers in their “perspectives of the French gas system for winter 2023-2024″.
But as France prepares for a second winter without being able to count on Russian gas pipelines, caution remains in order: “the safety margin remains low in the event of a cold peak in the second part of winter”, warn managers. According to them, “situations of one-off deficits could appear if storage was overused at the start of winter in particular”.
“Prudent storage management”
The stocks contain the equivalent of approximately a third of the annual gas consumption in France. The balance of the system will therefore imply several conditions: “sustained imports of LNG (liquefied gas), prudent management of storage as well as maintaining sobriety at levels similar to those observed last winter”.
France reduced its gas consumption by 14.3% (climate-adjusted data) between August 1, 2022 and July 31, 2023 compared to the same period of 2018-2019. After the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow sharply reduced its gas pipeline deliveries to the EU. The Twenty-Seven increased their purchases of LNG by 70% in 2022, transported by ships and coming more than 40% from the United States but also from Russia (17% of European purchases between January and July 2023) – this gas being subject to no sanction.
EU gas imports, main routes
©/afp.com/Sylvie HUSSON, Paz PIZARRO
Own liquefied gas import terminal
“The situation is better than last year not only because stocks are well filled – they were already full before winter 2022 and are currently 95% full in France – but because there is less consumption ” and that France has strengthened its supply capacities, Thierry Trouvé, general director of GRTgaz, explained to AFP. At European level, gas stocks are 96.7% full, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe.
To gain a little margin, France has acquired a liquefied gas import terminal operated by TotalEnergies in Le Havre, with a capacity of around 22 terawatt hours (TWh). In addition, gas entry capacities via Spain have been increased, making it possible to inject an additional volume of up to 6 TWh over the winter, according to managers.
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