Natural gas supplies to Europe weaken. LNG and Norwegian gas imports at long-term lows

Deliveries of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to European Union countries were at their lowest level in August since last October. Including LNG imports into the United Kingdom, they were even at their lowest level since December 2021. Natural gas supplies from the North Sea are also lower due to planned and unplanned outages, according to statistics from gas transporter Gassco. 

High supplies of natural gas from the North Sea and liquefied natural gas helped the European Union rapidly fill natural gas storage facilities this year. They were filled more than two and a half months ahead of the deadline set by the European Union.

Given current storage levels and continued lower natural gas consumption, demand for natural gas is gradually declining. This is evident from historical statistics, which suggest that liquefied natural gas deliveries in August this year were the lowest since last October.

Statistics from Argus show that natural gas consumption remains low. According to the figures, consumption in the five countries with the highest natural gas use (the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Italy) was even at its lowest level since August 2016.