Traditionally used to adjust the supply and demand of natural gas and guarantee secure supplies, storage is now meeting new requirements, linked to the development of the natural gas market, in particular in terms of flexibility and arbitrage.

Ensuring continuity of supply

Historically, Storage Facilities were designed to contribute to secure natural gas supplies. Located at different sites across the country, they represent an extremely interesting way of meeting changing seasonal consumption needs.

In France, gas consumption is five times higher in December than in August. It also varies according to the respective weighting of industial and domestic uses. In Germany of Great Britain, for example, seasonal variations represent a ratio of 1 to 2. Located downstream of the gas chain, storage also helps to deal with the temporary failure of a supply source.

Meeting new market needs

For several years, new requirements linked to the development and liberalization of the natural gas market have emerged. Storage has become one of the flexibility tools making it possible to meet Customers’ new requirements. It also gives a gas supplier the tools to harness price differences, either between two given days, during the same day, or between two geographic areas.

Supporting the development of the natural gas market

In regulatory terms, Storengy contributes to the development of the European gas market, offering transparent and non-discriminatory access to its facilities to market players (suppliers, traders…) which are then able to meet their customers’ needs for flexibility. In quantitative terms, the creation of new storage sites and the extension of existing sites make it possible to adapt to changing natural gas demand in each of the countries where Storengy has a presence.

Needs differ greatly between countries

France and Germany are among the main users of storage in Europe. Along with Italy, these three countries represent over half of Europe’s storage capacity. But the storage operators in these countries are continuing to develop capacity to meet growing demand. Until recently, Great Britain, which is having to deal with declining natural gas production in the North Sea, had very little storage making it possible to improve secure supplies for the British market, which is the largest in Europe.