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Gas prices: the price shield extended until the end of the year


Lfrance wants to fill its gas storage almost 100% and will have a new floating LNG terminal next year to ensure its supply despite the fall in Russian deliveries. “We are ensuring that our storage capacities are filled to the maximum: we are aiming to be close to 100% at the beginning of the fall,” declared Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne during a visit to a national gas control center in Ile-de-France. The opportunity for the Prime Minister to confirm the extension of the tariff shield on gas prices until the end of the year.

Operators are currently required to fill them to only 85% on 1er november. Gas storage is currently 59% full, compared to 46% on the same date last year. Concretely, the government will ask the storage operators to buy gas themselves to fill the reserves, in addition to the purchases made by the gas suppliers. These storage companies will benefit from a public financial guarantee.

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Reduce dependence on Russian gas

The new floating LNG terminal (known as FSRU) in Le Havre, carried by TotalEnergies, must be connected in 2023. The government is aiming to start work from the beginning of this autumn so that the barge is connected next year and is thus available next winter. This project, which had already been discussed for several months, should allow France to import even more liquefied natural gas (LNG). It currently has four LNG import terminals, at Fos-sur-mer (two terminals), Montoir-de-Bretagne and Dunkirk.

The capacities of these LNG terminals are already fully reserved for the very long term. The country thus believes that it can count on these supplies which arrive from all over the world by boat as an alternative to Russian gas transported by pipeline. These subjects deemed “urgent” will be integrated into the next law devoted to purchasing power, which must be presented on July 6 in the Council of Ministers, according to Matignon.

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