7 questions about natural gas availability
News article
In the Netherlands, you can turn on the heating at home whenever you want and businesses have access to sufficient energy to keep operating. Because natural gas is always available. Right? It’s not guaranteed, says Gasunie Transport Services (GTS). Recent geopolitical developments have shown that a months-long natural gas supply disruption is no longer just a theoretical scenario. One of the key conclusions drawn from the resilience analysis conducted by GTS is that measures are needed to be able to mitigate potential gas shortages.
1. What exactly is a resilience analysis and why was it conducted?
Gasunie subsidiary GTS fulfils an independent advisory role to the Dutch government, advising the Minister of Climate and Green Growth on gas supply security, as well as on potential threats to security of supply in the short and long term. This is because the Netherlands depends on natural gas imports from countries such as Norway and LNG (liquefied natural gas) imports from the US for 67% of its gas supply. At the same time, tensions are mounting worldwide, pipelines are at risk of being sabotaged, and the energy system is in the middle of a major transition. GTS conducted the resilience analysis to identify the risks and potential impact of a prolonged gas supply disruption, while also exploring the options available to make our natural gas supply more resilient.
GTS’ resilience analysis shows that the Netherlands and Europe are not well prepared for months-long gas supply disruptions. Additional measures are needed to mitigate such disruptions.
2. What happens when there isn't enough natural gas?
A prolonged interruption in natural gas imports may result in a shortage. An interruption lasting several months may lead to extreme price rises, major economic impact and escalating energy poverty, comparable to the impact of the European gas crisis triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the worst-case scenario, industry may have to be partially shut down. Seeing as natural gas is also essential to keeping power stations running, disruptions will affect the entire energy system.
3. Do we not have any reserves?
We do have reserves. But to get the full picture, you need to know how gas storage is organised in the Netherlands. There are four large underground gas storage facilities in former gas fields. The illustration shows what is inside such a gas storage facility. Part of the natural gas in a storage facility is what we call ‘working gas’, which is injected to have gas reserves for next winter or to increase reserves to cover emergency situations. The rest of the gas is what is known as ‘cushion gas’. This is a large amount of gas that must normally be kept in a gas storage facility at all times to maintain the pressure level in the system. The Netherlands’ gas storage facilities jointly hold around 137 TWh of working gas and approximately 300 TWh of cushion gas. Of these working gas reserves, we are going to need roughly 115 TWh over the coming gas year to meet demand in the event of a cold winter. This includes a margin for potential short-term disruptions in the infrastructure.
4. What measures does GTS advise the government to take to prepare for prolonged interruptions?
GTS strongly advises the Dutch government to build up strategic emergency reserves in existing gas storage facilities, and to look into using cushion gas as an emergency reserve. While cushion gas is normally never touched, some of it can still be used in exceptional circumstances to cover a temporary shortage. This is why GTS’ advice is to assess as soon as possible how much cushion gas could technically and safely be freed up for use. This could help bridge a potential prolonged gas supply interruption, which would be necessary to protect households and industry. GTS has advised the Dutch government to ensure sufficient emergency reserves for the winter of 2026/2027.
5. What exactly are ‘strategic emergency reserves’?
Strategic emergency reserves are, as the term suggests, emergency gas reserves kept in existing gas storage facilities and intended to ensure we can cope with a months-long gas supply disruption, i.e. for exceptional situations. This gas could then be used in case of an emergency, i.e. when a shortage is looming.
6. Why is strategic gas storage so important?
Strategic gas storage enables us to temporarily increase the Netherlands’ domestic gas supply, so as to make our country resilient in the face of a prolonged disruption. The Netherlands currently has over 300 TWh of cushion gas in existing gas storage facilities. Precisely by temporarily using part of this cushion gas, we can mitigate shortages caused by prolonged disruptions.
7. Can we work together on this on a European level?
Yes, we can. In fact, it is essential that we do. A prolonged gas supply disruption is a Europe-wide risk. GTS stresses that EU Member States must assess the risks together and jointly decide whether and how to organise emergency gas reserves. There is currently 800 TWh of cushion gas in storage facilities across the EU. As EU rules on gas supply security are currently being reviewed, this is a good time to make clear agreements on it.