Saturday 21/March/2026 – 04:03 PM
European Union Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen urged member states to take proactive steps to fill natural gas tanks early, in order to avoid fierce competition for supplies that could ignite prices during next summer.
Before prices flare up… European moves to fill gas stocks before the summer
These moves come within the framework of the bloc’s efforts to contain the economic effects resulting from the Iranian military tensions, as Jorgensen proposed in a letter seen by Bloomberg to reduce storage targets to 80% while exploiting the flexible margins provided by European law, which allows deviation from this target by rates ranging between 5% to 10% depending on market conditions, provided that these commitments are fulfilled before the beginning of next December.
Although Jorgensen reassured that security of supply remains protected for now thanks to shipments that crossed the Strait of Hormuz before the conflict erupted, he warned that Europe, as a net energy importer, would not be immune to global price fluctuations that could hinder the pace of gas pumping into stocks.
These warnings are of utmost importance following the recent attacks that targeted liquefied gas production facilities in Qatar, which are estimated to take five years to repair, which places the European Union facing the challenge of escalating competition in international markets despite its limited direct dependence on the region’s gas.
