NEW YORK, April 2. /TASS/. High prices for natural gas, which make it difficult to stockpile its reserves, may lead to the situation when Europe ends up being unprepared for next winter, Bloomberg industry observer Javier Blas wrote.
According to him, demand for gas usually decreases in spring and summer, which makes it more affordable. During this period, companies actively purchase gas and pump it into underground storage facilities. However, after the past winter, reserves were lower than usual, and "without Russian pipeline supplies, Europe needs to pay higher prices," the expert notes.
"Typically, European gas inventories start to climb from late March, particularly during weekends when consumption is lower. So far, very little has gone into storage Gas traders expect to see more injections as April progresses, in part because some storage - particularly in France - was contracted back in September and October 2024," Blas went on.
The observer added that the lack of price incentive since November has stopped many from booking storage capacity.
According to Eurostat data published in March and TASS calculations, the EU purchased 833 million euros worth of Russian pipeline gas and 1.07 billion euros worth of liquefied natural gas in January. Total purchases of 1.9 billion euros were the highest in two years. The TurkStream pipeline remains the last active route for Russian gas supplies to Europe.