French gas reserves fall to lowest in Europe as strikes hobble imports
Protests over planned increase to pension age led to widespread disruption at country’s terminals
FRANCE has been left with the lowest level of gas reserves in Europe after widespread strikes against Emmanuel Macron’s planned pensions changes hampered imports.
The country’s gas stocks were 28pc full at the end of March compared with 56pc across Europe, according to industry data highlighted by the International Energy Agency.
Efforts to boost reverses and guard against another energy squeeze next winter were harmed by industrial action over the last few months.
French workers took to the streets in February and March to protest against plans by president Macron to increase the pension age to 64, a policy that has now been signed into law. The strikes led to disruption at import terminals where gas is shipped from around the world to be processed. A terminal in Dunkirk was disrupted for 11 days in March, while there were also problems at others such as the Fos Cavaou terminal in the south.
The IEA said flows of liquefied natural gas (LNG – gas cooled for shipping) into France fell 55pc in March compared with the previous year because of the strikes. Vessels were diverted to other European ports such as Spain and Greece, as well as the UK.
The agency said: “As a result, France has been forced to lean on its storage inventories.”
Strikes also hit France’s electricity output, with Britain at one point warming up spare coal-fired power units in case France needed extra imports.
In its latest gas market report published today, the IEA warns that the outlook for the gas market remains uncertain despite rapidly cooling prices in recent months. European natural gas prices fell to their lowest level in 21 months yesterday.
Dutch front-month futures, Europe’s gas pricing benchmark, dropped as much as 1.9pc to below $37 (£29) per megawatt hour amid record imports of liquefied natural gas on the Continent.
However, the IEA warned: “Global gas supply is set to remain tight in 2023 and the global balance is subject to an unusually wide range of uncertainties.
“These include adverse weather factors, such as a dry summer or a cold fourth quarter, lower availability of LNG and the possibility of a further decline in Russian pipeline gas deliveries to the European Union.”
Global gas consumption fell 1.5pc in 2022, the IEA said, driven by declines in Europe and Asia where prices surged.
Russia is now supplying just 10pc of the EU’S gas, compared to more than a third before the war. The cuts in Russian supplies have led to a greater role for the US in the global gas market, with the country poised to become the world’s largest LNG exporter this year.