The CEO of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanné, at the Automotive Cells Company (ACC) factory in Billy-Berclau, May 30, 2023 (POOL/AFP/Archives/PASCAL ROSSIGNOL)
Could France run out of gas next winter? The CEO of TotalEnergies Patrick Pouyanné did not completely rule out this possibility on Saturday in Aix, stressing the weakness of European storage capacities and the cost of imports.
“In gas, yes, the stocks will be full” in October, said the boss of the oil and gas group during a round table at the Economic Meetings of Aix-en-Provence.
“But if the winter is cold in Europe”, he warned, the storage capacities of the Old Continent will not be enough to meet the gas demand of European consumers throughout the season.
This does not necessarily mean that Europeans will run out of gas, but the imports needed to meet demand will have a high cost, warns Patrick Pouyanné.
“Buddy prices don’t work in a supply and demand market,” he argued.
Europeans, who have become very fond of American liquefied natural gas (LNG) since the cut in Russian supplies, are also dependent on the political context in the United States – the next presidential election is scheduled for the end of 2024.
For his part, the French Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, wanted to be more reassuring.
“Today, there is no need to worry about gas storage and the gas situation in France or in Europe,” he said.
“We must of course remain vigilant,” he added. “We must have access to LNG to face the next winter without difficulty,” he added.
Patrick Pouyanné, however, expressed concerns if the US presidential election at the end of 2024 was won by the Republicans. Currently in opposition to Democratic President Joe Biden, “if the Republicans decide to stop exports (of LNG), there is a systemic risk”, he judged.
On the side of Engie, the main supplier of natural gas in France, the general manager Catherine MacGregor said she was “rather serene” on the security of supply next winter due to the sobriety efforts made and new sources of energy. ‘import.
“But we will still remain on a very volatile system in the years to come,” she added.
With regard to electricity – for which France is less dependent on foreign countries thanks to its 56 nuclear reactors – the CEO of EDF Luc Rémont also displayed his optimism in Aix, after a winter 2022/23 during which authorities were preparing for possible cuts due to the record number of reactors stopped for repairs.
“Production is going up. At this stage, we are able to say that we will approach next winter with serenity,” he said.
Another reason for satisfaction, “we start the summer with full dams”, which should make it possible to produce more hydroelectricity than last year, when the drought had constrained hydroelectric production.
© 2023 AFP
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