Europe’s Winter Gas Crisis Is Over, For Now

Jan 19, 2023 thejournalbiz

The flow of Russian natural gas to Europe is dwindling!

Just over 19 million cubic meters of Russian gas are scheduled to flow through Ukraine and into Slovakia Thursday.

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That’s down from an average of 37 million daily in the second half of 2022, according to commodities data firm ICIS.

The Ukraine-Slovakia route is the final thoroughfare for Russian gas heading to western Europe. But prices haven’t risen in response to lower supplies, in part because Russian meddling doesn’t appear to be the cause.

Utilities are likely dialing down imports from Russia of their own accord in favor of cheaper gas in the northwest Europe spot market, where prices have tumbled.

Even if Russian supplies to Europe vanished, the continent looks well-positioned to get through this winter with healthy supplies. Mild weather, an influx of liquefied natural gas and lower demand have plumped up storage levels to well above seasonal norms. That makes the task of filling stocks for next winter a lot easier.

“Storage is likely to exit winter at pretty much record high levels,” said Michael Stoppard of S&P Global Commodity Insights. “We can see a clear pathway through to balancing the entire year.”