Infrastructure overkill?

Rush to build out EU LNG import capacity seems a bit flawed

Europe’s dash to replace Russian gas has triggered a mad rush to build out new LNG import terminals. A surge in LNG imports in January raised concerns around the EU’s capacity to accommodate further major increases envisaged by the EU Commission to offset Russian molecules. A closer look at the utilisation of existing terminals confirms pinch-points are starting to emerge, but as ever in European energy matters the situation is far from simple.

This article takes a look at the limited EU LNG capacity pinch-points and compares these to the growing list of proposed capacity additions. It then considers the spectre of demand uncertainty stemming from the EU’s energy transition, and how this casts a long shadow over gas infrastructure investments. It finishes with links to useful resources and the many articles, papers and studies I’ve been reading this week on related topics.

Article stats: 2,000 words / 8 charts, graphs & tables / 10-min reading time

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