Media: high prices threaten to cost up to 3bn Euros to fill EU gas storage facilities this summer
High gas prices in the European Union may cause financial losses of up to 3bn Euros when filling gas storage facilities in the summer of 2025, TASS reports citing Bloomberg
Bloomberg informs that the cost of gas in Europe in February reached a two-year high amid increased demand due to cold weather. Gas stocks in Europe’s underground storage facilities dropped below 48.5 percent, and withdrawals in February became a record for this month over the past four years, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE).
The news agency emphasises that Europe is not currently facing a gas shortage, ‘but there are concerns about the speed at which gas storage facilities will be filled for next winter’. EU governments are exploring various ways to solve this problem. Italy, e.g., is proposing to start pumping gas into underground storage earlier than usual, while Germany is discussing subsidies for this purpose. According to the media, current prices could make filling gas storage facilities unprofitable, and the EU gas market could remain tight due to delays in a number of projects and competition with Asian countries.
The news agency notes that the difference between futures prices for summer and winter months in January became the largest in three years, “This [price difference] corresponds to a loss of 3bn Euros in purchasing in summer and selling in winter in Europe all the gas volumes that Europe would need to reach the target level [of 90 percent filling of gas storage facilities].”
These potential losses will fall on the shoulders of companies such as Vitol Group, Shell Plc and RWE. Current EU rules allow national governments to use available powers to incentivise gas purchases, but this may cause price fluctuations and competition between the EU member states for this natural resource.
