As winter approaches, Europe is bracing for volatile energy prices, driven by rising natural gas costs and ongoing supply uncertainties. With Europe entering its third winter since war started in Ukraine, the region’s energy landscape remains precarious.
Natural gas prices are climbing, reflecting concerns about supply and growing demand. While Europe’s gas reserves appear adequately stocked for now, the winter months are already placing pressure on energy storage.
Dr. Yousef Alshammari, President of the London College of Energy Economics, told Euronews Business: “Uncertainty oversupply continues to dominate the markets despite the availability of sufficient gas reserves.”
He further noted that the EU’s gas storage stood at 90% in August—well ahead of the deadline—and “today, gas storage stands at 95% full, well above 100 bcm.” However, as temperatures dip, the demand for heating and electricity has already strained storage capacities, especially during the first weeks of November. According to Gas Infrastructure Europe data, the recent cold snap led to gas storage withdrawals that reached close to 4% (4.29 bcm) of Europe’s total storage capacity.
Alshammari cautioned that storage levels may not remain as high by the spring of 2025, predicting that “this winter they could go well below 50% which means that Europe will need to buy much more gas this next year to restore gas storage at nearly full levels.” He added, “This combined with relatively colder weather is likely to keep prices reasonably at higher levels compared to their levels throughout the previous winter, which was relatively milder.”
