I’ll explain the needs and (price) problems of LNG. Speak Bessi
LNG is needed to meet European gas needs, but its price is higher than that of fuel that arrives via pipes. Conversation with Gianni Bessi, author of the book “Natural gas. The energy of tomorrow "(Innovative Publishing)
Gas and more. Present and future. The point with the Pd councilor to the Emilia-Romagna Region Gianni Bessi, author of the book Natural Gas. The energy of tomorrow (Innovative Publishing) and expert in the interweaving of energy-economy-geopolitics.
Bessi, the operation to replace the gas we no longer buy from Russia has started. Where are we at?
«The game is still difficult, despite optimism in many parts. The numbers show the situation well: according to the findings of the Bruegel institute, at the end of August, just before the North Stream blockade, Moscow supplied Europe with 856.8 million cubic meters of natural gas a week. A year ago, in the same period, 2,719.4 million cubic meters arrived. All this gas must be replaced and it is not easy ».
But the contracts with the other producing countries have been updated.
“And that's true i part. Algeria, with which Eni and the government have signed agreements, is supplying Europe with around 70-80 million more per week than the 583 million cubic meters it previously guaranteed. For Libyan gas, on the other hand, it remains far below the potential, above all due to the political difficulties within the country, which are difficult to predict and even more to resolve. At the same time, Norway, another of the 'big suppliers' of methane to the EU and therefore also to Italy, again according to Bruegel, has decreased flows from 2,495.2 to 2,382.7 million cubic meters million cubic meters per week".
And what conclusions does this lead us to?
"That replacing Russian gas is more difficult than expected and that next winter is in danger of running out."
Not a good prospect. What other solutions would there be?
«The only source capable of covering European needs at the moment is LNG, liquefied natural gas, which Europe buys mainly from the USA. Always relying on numbers, a year ago we imported 1,074.4 million cubic meters of LNG per week and now we have reached 2,390.1 million cubic meters ».
But the LNG has a problem …
«Exactly, its price, which is higher than that of gas that arrives via the pipeline. The LNG that Europe is buying is what American producers have diverted from Asian customers. After all, we are willing to pay a more profitable price, which, as we have seen, has reached 'crazy' shares on the Ttf stock exchange in Amsterdam. Europe is trying to respond, even with a possible price cap, to the price of methane that is completely out of control, also for the use that Russia is making of it as a 'blackmail weapon', but in the meantime the member countries are doing a tender to buy regasification vessels ».
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/gnl-europa-prezzo/ on Fri, 16 Sep 2022 06:02:33 +0000.