ESSEN, Germany (Reuters) – Germany’s gas trading hub plans to hold talks with traders at an energy industry event in Essen later on Tuesday to seek ways to boost flagging gas reserves, it said.
Trading Hub Europe’s (THE) proposed consultations during the E-World of Energy trade fair are in response to concern that storage caverns may not be sufficiently refilled by next winter because a reversal in seasonal price trends has made summer refilling less attractive.
The consultations are purely an information-gathering exercise and not related to any tendering process, THE emphasised.
German gas storage capacity is the highest in Europe but sites are now 49% full, down from 72% at the same time last year, data from Gas Infrastructure Europe shows.
Cold winter weather has boosted demand and helped to drive European front-month prices close to two-year highs, with storage caverns depleting faster than in recent winters.
Summer price projections, meanwhile, suggest there will be no let up in the face of factors including increased global competition for liquefied natural gas (LNG) since Russia halted exports to western markets.
THE, in a government-appointed function as auctioneer and administrator of a quarter of German storage space, needs to find marketing and subsidising tools, it said last month.
(Reporting by Vera Eckert; Editing by David Goodman)
