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Call for EU gas investment comment
Gas companies have been asked to comment on a new 10-year strategy for developing European Union (EU) gas distribution released by the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG), reports Keith Nuthall.
The network stresses that Europe faces supply and pricing challenges, mitigated by investment in its pipeline and interconnector networks. Concluding that ‘Europe needs to enlarge its supply portfolio’, the strategy says that while EU ‘gas demand does not show a clear evolution, the requirements for gas imports are driven by the decreasing indigenous production’. It added that under the current perspective the need for additional imports is likely to be met by Russian gas and LNG… In such a situation Europe would be in a challenging position resulting in a reduced market power.’
The strategy report predicts that gas supplies from Algeria and Libya will remain steady and Caspian gas will be of ‘limited influence’. While Norway could deliver significant Barents Sea volumes from the mid-2020s, ENTSOG said: ‘Investments connecting this production to the existing European gas network is not yet decided’ and these are competing for funds with potential LNG developments.
ENTSOG wants a clear investment strategy, creating ‘appropriate signals from Europe’ to attract the necessary investment, especially for poorly integrated regions, such as the Baltic, central-eastern and south-eastern Europe.
