Mild winter means European gas supplies sufficient

Europe’s mildest winter since 2007 has left the region with enough natural gas in storage to cover any future disruption in flows from Ukraine for about 45 days.

European inventories were 49% full as of March 2, from 37% a year ago, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe, a lobby group of pipeline operators in Brussels. That’s equal to about 1½ months of imports from pipelines running through Ukraine, said Oswald Clint, a senior analyst at Sanford C Bernstein & Co in London.

“It isn’t very cold, there is gas in storage, I wouldn’t panic,” said Karen Sund, founder of Sund Energy, which has advised the International Energy Agency and Centrica Plc on gas markets. “Power generators don’t want it anyway.”

Ukraine, a transit point for gas accounting for about 16% of European demand, mobilised its army and called for foreign observers after Russian forces took control of the Crimea peninsula over the weekend. Russian president Vladimir Putin said yesterday there is no immediate need to send troops to Ukraine and he isn’t considering adding Crimea to Russia, easing concerns that the crisis may escalate.

The European Union has adequate gas reserves.

- Bloomberg