The European Union will need significantly higher imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) this summer to replenish depleted gas storage before the winter, according to the latest assessment by the bloc's agency for the cooperation of energy regulators (ACER).
While the bloc is still reeling from gas markets volatility due to the conflict in the Middle East and the on-off closure of the critical Strait of Hormuz, ACER's summer supply outlook warns that EU gas storage was only 28 percent full at the start of the summer injection season on 1 April, its lowest level in four years.
That figure has raised concerns that the EU may struggle to meet its target of 90 percent storage by 1 November, a legal minimum set by a law put in place after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The European Commission told capitals this spring to keep their stored reserves at 80 percent "in case of difficult conditions", but allowed some leeway to avoid panic buying. Certain member states will be permitted to refill to as low as 70 percent.
ACER said that achieving the storage target will require LNG imports to increase by around 13 percent compared with 2025 levels. While the EU could still reach an 80 percent storage level with last year's import volumes, filling storage to 90 percent will demand substantially more shipments.
