Europe's gas sector is looking for a way to ease storage requirements.

European Union gas industry lobby groups are calling on Brussels to ease gas storage refill targets due to the supply issues caused by the conflict in the Middle East.

The EU mandates a storage refill target of 90% by November each year to ensure adequate supply during peak winter demand. However, the ongoing war has significantly reduced global LNG availability, complicating and increasing the cost of refilling efforts.

Consequently, the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers and Eurogas have requested greater flexibility. “To enhance price relief, flexibilities should be activated by the commission and member states as soon as possible, early in the storage season,” the organizations stated today, according to Bloomberg. This statement is released ahead of an informal meeting of EU energy ministers in Cyprus to address the energy supply situation in the bloc.

There is already some leeway in the gas storage refill requirements: member states can deviate from the 90% target by 10 percentage points, plus an additional 5 percentage points if market conditions are particularly tough—which they certainly are at the moment.

The gas industry lobby emphasized that the EU's emergency measures regarding energy supply security should remain temporary, targeted, and proportionate, as reported by Bloomberg.

“Efforts like demand aggregation or diversification should stay voluntary and must not interfere with wholesale price signals,” stated the IAOGP and Eurogas. “Clear and credible price signals are essential for attracting natural gas and crude oil supplies in global markets, especially in a tightening environment marked by fierce competition for LNG shipments, including from Asian buyers.”

Currently, the EU's gas storage is at 35.57% of capacity, significantly lower than levels seen over the past five years.