DANUBE REGION GAS STORAGE ANALYSIS PUBLISHED

The Energy Priority Area has been working on ways to tackle the issue of gas market integration and gas storage optimisation in the Danube Region. The Danube Region Gas Storage Analysis builds upon the results of the Danube Region Gas Market Model in order to present the best use of the available capacity.

The study has revealed that the Danube Region as a whole has sufficient storage capacity but with uneven distribution across countries. At the current state, there is 4 bcm unused capacity in the region. As markets become more interconnected storage can be substituted partly by other means of flexibility that is new interconnectors. Further investments into storage would only increase the unused capacity. As an exception, , taking into account the social welfare analysis of the study, the need for Moldovan storage investments is justified.

As a result, the Energy Priority Area concluded that a better use of existing storage capacities need to be encouraged by regional cooperation of member countries before new investment projects. In order to overcome the existing mistrust amongst countries when security of supply is ensured by facilities outside the territory of the given state, governments or regulatory agencies should find incentives or provide insurance for parties that the regional cooperation will not be harmed in any type of crisis situation, and shall provide contractual assurance for reliable delivery.