AhlulBayt News Agency: Europe is facing the threat of a new energy crisis amid rising energy prices and tensions in West Asia, the Financial Times newspaper reported.
The escalation of the situation pushed gas prices in Europe to their highest level since 2023 at the beginning of this week, with the cost soaring by 53% since February 27, the paper said.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has effectively stopped, and Qatar has been forced to halt LNG production, according to the publication. Moreover, on Wednesday, a liquefied natural gas tanker originally bound for France became the first cargo ship in the Atlantic Ocean to change course and head to Asia, which demonstrates intensified competition for supplies, the FT said.
Fiercer competition for LNG supplies comes as a particularly cold winter has depleted gas stocks in Europe, according to the newspaper. Storage facilities in the bloc’s countries are less than 30% filled, while the five-year average for this time of year equals around 45%, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). Particularly low rates are observed in countries such as the Netherlands, Sweden, Croatia, and Latvia.
Europe currently receives about 10% of LNG it needs from Qatar, the FT said.
However, if competition for supplies from other countries continues to drive up prices, inflation could rise substantially and hinder economic growth, especially in Italy and Germany, which are largely dependent on LNG imports, the paper noted.
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