OSLO, Nov 30 - Deliveries of piped natural gas from Norway to continental Europe and Britain are projected to reach record levels this winter, with robust supplies anticipated to continue throughout 2025. Gassco, the system operator, reported that minimal maintenance outages are scheduled, ensuring high delivery regularity.
Alfred Hansen, head of system operations at Gassco, noted that the upcoming winter season of 2024-2025 will see very few planned activities that could disrupt supply. This comes as Europe faces a challenging gas supply situation, with storage sites depleting earlier than usual due to cold weather and increased demand.
As of now, Europe's gas storage sites are 86.65% full, which is over ten percentage points lower than the same time last year. Norway surpassed Russia in 2022 to become Europe's largest gas supplier, making any outages at Norwegian fields a potential trigger for price increases.
Hansen emphasized the preparedness for a winter season with both demand and deliveries expected to be at record-high levels. The outlook for the summer of 2025 appears favorable, with fewer maintenance outages planned compared to the previous year.
Gas supply through the Gassco-operated pipeline network has consistently exceeded 2023 levels, totaling 97 billion cubic meters by the end of October. Historical data shows that Norwegian piped gas supplies reached a record of 117.4 billion cubic meters in 2017 and approached 116.9 billion cubic meters in 2022.
Hansen concluded that if the trends continue, 2024 could match previous record years, indicating strong expected deliveries for 2025.