France wants to fill its gas storage nearly 100% by early autumn and will have a new floating LNG terminal next year to ensure its supply despite the drop in Russian deliveries, a Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced on Thursday.
We ensure the maximum filling of our storage capacities. We aim to be close to 100% by early fall, she said during a visit to a national gas control center in Ile-de-France.
Operators are currently required to fill them only 85% by 1 November. Gas storage is currently 59% full, compared to 46% on the same date last year.
In concrete terms, the government will ask storage operators to buy gas themselves to fill the reserves, in addition to purchases made by gas suppliers.
These storage companies will benefit from a public financial guarantee, Matignon explained.
We are going to launch a new methane terminal to increase our capacity to supply us with gas which is not dependent on Russia, Ms. Borne also announced.
This new floating LNG terminal (known as FSRU) in Le Havre, carried by TotalEnergies, should be connected in 2023. The government is aiming for work to start at the beginning of this fall so that the barge can be connected next year and thus be available there. next winter.
This project, which had already been discussed for several months, should enable France to import even more liquefied natural gas (LNG). It currently has four LNG import terminals, Fos-sur-mer (two terminals), Montoir-de-Bretagne and Dunkirk.
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The capacities of these LNG terminals are already fully reserved for the very long term, emphasizes Matignon. The country thus believes that it can count on these supplies which arrive from all over the world by boat as an alternative to Russian gas transported by pipeline.
These subjects deemed urgent will be integrated into the next law devoted to purchasing power, which must be presented on July 6 in the Council of Ministers, it was specified in the entourage of Ms. Borne.
Germany – much more dependent on Russia – on Thursday activated the alert level of the plan to guarantee its gas supply which brings the country closer to rationing measures, in the wake of a 60% drop in deliveries from Moscow via the Nord Stream gas pipeline.