Paris: The crisis that sent natural gas prices skyrocketing in Europe over the past couple of years isn’t fully over as the region is still faced with constrained supplies and rising competition overseas for the heating and power-generation fuel, according to the boss of TotalEnergies.
“The idea that Europe has solved the issue is wrong,” CEO Patrick Pouyanne said in an interview at the Columbia Global Energy Summit in New York that was broadcast online. “We have a gap of supply.”
Prices for liquefied natural gas cargoes, which have plunged from 2022’s highs, may rise again through year-end as Europe needs to replenish its inventories before winter at a time when Chinese energy demand is rebounding. Meanwhile, supplies of the super-chilled fuel won’t significantly increase at least until 2026 after years of underinvestment in import and export infrastructure, he added.
“The only way for Europe to get the LNG is to pay more. It’s just the reality of supply and demand,” Pouyanne said.
