Europe’s gas security strategy may not be 2024 ready

The region’s rapidly evolving infrastructure has a lot to be commended for, but some of the capacity may not be ready in time for the 2024 heating season

Europe’s gas strategy lies somewhere between revolution and evolution: this was the message from Petroleum Economist’s European Gas Strategy event in London in November. A reconfiguration of flows towards the US and other sources of LNG suggests revolution, but not having fully weaned off Russian pipeline gas signals evolution. A rapid shift in new capacity again points to a seismic shift in approach, but the fact that many of the new units are floating facilities points to flexibility and optionality. A lot of the buying behaviour has been due to market forces, but policymakers have been much more involved in projects and storage. Some of the political moves to build out infrastructure have