Gasunie warns winter gas reserves need to be refilled faster

The Netherlands needs to refill its natural gas reserves faster to avoid a shortage next winter, the government agency responsible for maintaining supplies has warned.

Current storage levels are down to 19 per cent of capacity after cold weather in January depleted supplies. A year ago the storage containers were 50% full.

The decision on when to buy gas is taken by commercial partners, who have held off after market prices jumped by around 50% in the wake of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran, which have closed the Strait of Hormuz.

But the government can step in to secure gas security. The state energy provider Energiebeheerder Nederland (EBN) has been granted a loan facility of €20 billion to buy gas, and climate minister Stientje van Veldhoven has said she is “working with EBN to find the balance between security of delivery for next winter, limiting disruption to the market and keeping costs as low as possible.”

“In October we need to be at around 80 per cent,” Gasunie manager Hans Coenen told NOS. “Our concern is that we won’t make it if we keep going at the current rate.

“If commercial parties are holding back, the Dutch state can do it. We want to be able to deal with a cold winter, and if no gas arrives in the Netherlands, for whatever reason, we want to stay warm and keep our industry running.”

The Netherlands permanently shut down its natural gas fields in Groningen in 2024 after the extraction process triggered hundreds of earthquakes, causing extensive damage to properties.

Far-right opposition party JA21 tabled a motion in March calling on the government to stop sealing gas wells with concrete so they could be used as an emergency supply, but there is currently no majority in parliament to restart production.