Supplying Europe with natural gas
The importance of natural gas within the energy mix has increased significantly in the last few decades. The most environmentally friendly of all the fossil fuels now accounts for about a quarter of primary energy consumption in the EU. Hitherto, Europe’s reserves of natural gas could also be exploited to satisfy European demand but now European production of natural gas is falling steadily due to a lack of any major new gas fields. Hence, natural gas imports are playing an increasingly important role in the EU’s future energy supply.
Growing need for imports
The statistics substantiate the enormous demand for natural gas imports in Europe: the EU Member States are already among the biggest natural gas importers. They cover about half their demand for natural gas abroad. A look forward to the year 2015 indicates that this trend is set to intensify in the medium term. At this point even the UK, one of the major producers of natural gas in Europe, will be purchasing more natural gas abroad than it will be producing itself.
By 2030, the volume of natural gas currently imported by Europe will more than double. Like the USA and the high-growth regions China and India, European consumers will depend on reliable supplies from the major natural gas deposits, for example in Western Siberia. Europe has a decisive geographical advantage in this regard, with about three quarters of the world’s natural gas reserves located within a 4000-kilometer radius.
Strong position
We should make the most of these favourable conditions by positioning ourselves as a strong partner in the natural gas market. The following can help us achieve this:
- Long-term import contracts
- Our own natural gas production in the producer countries
- Diversification of the import infrastructure
- Expansion of Europe’s storage capacities
As well as cooperating as partners with the Russian producer Gazprom, in particular the expansion of the infrastructure is an investment in the energy of the future, natural gas. For example, in recent years, the WINGAS Group and E.ON Ruhrgas have increased the transport capacities of existing pipelines and set up new storage facilities to deal with temporary supply shortages and demand peaks.
The construction of the Nord Stream pipeline and its connecting pipelines, the OPAL and the NEL, are the most recent projects. They are a valuable addition to the existing pipeline networks and will enable the continued secure and fair supply of natural gas in Europe.
Energy providers from the UK, the Netherlands and Denmark have already expressed interest in deliveries via this transport route or have already signed import agreements for the future
