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The European Union plans to relax on the goals of its gas re -storage for member states, as it tries to reduce the unprecedented disruption of the market from countries from storage in the winter.

the European Commission She said on Wednesday that she wanted to give countries greater flexibility in when and how much storage that should be accumulated, as speculation is escalating that the bloc may not be able to reach its allocated goal this year.

The committee said: “The most flexible packing paths, with the support of the committee, can help reduce the system’s stress and avoid market abnormalities associated with the re -storage of gas, and support for re -filling in the terms of purchase better and the security of the offer.” Not provided more details about her plans.

The gas storage works as an important temporary store for the mass during the winter months when the demand is higher, which reduces market fluctuations. The European Union presented a target of at least 80 percent of the storage capacity for each country in 2022 after Russia’s extensive invasion of Ukraine, and 90 percent per year after that, to hit November 1.

But the merchants warned that politics was disrupted Natural gas The market, raising prices during the summer and not being linked to the accumulation of gas in storage this year.

Traders say that the list contributed to distorting the market by forcing countries to buy at the same time.

One of the traders said: “In fact, the list imposed on the protection of the market has distorted the market much early,” said one of the traders.

This winter, a mixture of cold weather, low -power generation of wind and Russian pipeline loss Through Ukraine since the new year, it means that the region had to extract more than storing it more than previous years.

Natural gas in Europe tends to be cheaper in the summer when the demand is less. In the past, this provided an incentive for merchants to buy and store gas, then sell it in a profit during the winter heating season. But the need to purchase more gas this year to face the European Union’s goal led to anomalies in the market, as summer gas prices are higher than those in the winter.

This is a “real headache for Europe” because it refers to traders that they “may not earn any money from the gas position in storage” this year, as Laura Big said, and LNG manager at commodities KPLER.

The summer gas price premium on winter prices has reached more than 6 euros per MB watch at the end of January, which is the highest level ever, according to the ARGUS pricing agency, although it has been narrowed since then.

The storage of gas in the European Union was 40.3 percent full of Monday, more than 20 degrees Celsius less than last year. “If you look at the current market conditions, there is a possibility that” the European Union will decrease to its 90 percent goal, said Florence Schmidt, a strategic energy expert in Rabobank.

Some countries such as Austria and the Czech Republic have individual storage targets based on their average consumption, which tend to be less. “It creates a lot of uncertainty.”

He said that in Germany, which has a law forcing him to fill 90 percent of the storage by November 1, no more than half of the storage capacity of April 25 was booked on April.

Summer prices previously rose over winter prices during the year 2022, amid the energy crisis in the continent. Traders were unwilling to buy gas to place it in storage, and in some countries, the government’s intervention was needed.

In Germany, a consortium bought from the operators of the transportation system, on behalf of the government, whose value is 50 wanted of gas in 2022, as it spent approximately 9 billion euros, at a cost of a unit of 174 euros/megawat, much higher than the prices in the winter. The costs have not been fully recovered yet.

“The goals of the gas storage level were justified in setting the determined crisis after the Russian war of the aggression in 2022.[but]”The situation is now relieving,” said Kirsten Andrea, head of the German Energy Group. The group called for reducing legal storage requirements in Germany to 80 percent.

“The legal requirements have a major impact on market behavior and it is a wrong incentive for seasonal coverage,” she said. “The low level of national packing level for gas storage facilities from 90 to 80 percent can help calm the market.”