IEA calls on Russia to up European gas supplies
By Abigail Townsend
Date: Tuesday 21 Sep 2021
(Sharecast News) - The International Energy Agency has called on Russia to boost gas supplies to Europe ahead of the coming winter heating season.
The Paris-based body - which operates within the framework of the OECD - acknowledged that Russia was fulfilling long-term contracts with its European customers.
But it also noted that the country's exports to Europe where below those in 2019.
It continued: "The IEA believes that Russia could do more to increase gas availability to Europe and ensure storage is filled to adequate levels in preparation for the coming winter heating season.
"This is also an opportunity for Russia to underscore its credentials as a reliable supplier to the European market."
Russia is Europe's largest supplier of gas, and the reduction in the amount it supplies is viewed as one of the contributing factors to soaring gas prices.
However, the IEA stressed that Russia was not to blame for the crisis, which had instead been caused by a number of factors. On the demand side, it said Europe had endured a "particularly cold and long" heating season last winter, while cold spells in east Asia and North America in the first quarter were followed by drought and heatwaves elsewhere in the world.
On the supply side, there had been lower-than-usual availability of wind energy, while production of liquefied natural gas worldwide had been impacted by a series of unplanned outages as well as essential maintenance delayed from 2020.
Looking ahead, it warned: "The European gas market could well face further stress tests from unplanned outages and sharp cold spells, especially if they occur late in the winter.
"Gas storage levels in Europe are well below their five-year average, but not markedly below their previous five-year lows, which were reached in 2017."
The IEA also stressed that blaming the transition to clean energy sources for the crisis was "inaccurate and misleading".
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