An additional 23 billion cubic meters (bcm) of LNG is expected this year, Birol said, even with an easing of pandemic restrictions with only a small increase in economic output, with China swallowing 80% of the additional gas. is likely to.
“Even if we have enough LNG import terminals, there may not be enough gas to import and therefore this coming winter will not be easy for Europe,” he said, noting that prices will rise again.
“It’s not right to relax, it’s not right to celebrate”.
He said that despite a renewed push to develop new gas fields, it would take years for them to come online.
Households and firms therefore need to continue efforts to reduce gas use, while rapidly expanding renewable energy generation, he said.
In an interview with Deutschlandfunk on Sunday, Klaus Müller, head of the German network agency that regulates the gas and electricity markets, also said he could not rule out a possible gas shortage next winter, especially with Germany now without Russian pipeline gas. Storage facilities have to be filled.
“We can manage it, but a really big effort will have to be made,” he said, adding that it would be good not to let the storage level fall too far below the current 71.52%.