(Finance) – “The energy market remains uncertain not only due to geopolitical tensionsbut due to the intrinsic volatility of energy and gas prices, with an effect exacerbated by the growing global demand for energy with a tight balance between supply and demand”. Stefano VenierCEO of Snamduring the presentation of the new plan to 2029 to the financial community.
“The renewables are intermittent and unpredictable by their nature and the phenomenon of dunkelflaute, a German term which is becoming more popular and indicates conditions with less renewable energy, has created price spikes in recent months”, he explained.
“The levels of prices of gas remain above pre-crisis levels e show an increasing trend due to the decrease in supply from Russia, a harsher winter, the dunkelfluute phenomenon, the lack of a greater supply of renewables and the competition with Asian LNG terminals,” Venier said.
“With Russia out of the picture, and with Algeria and Norway operating at maximum capacity, there is today a greater dependence on LNGwhich however takes days to arrive – claimed the number one of Snam – A less predictable energy market therefore highlights the essential flexibility of gas storage. This is true in Europe and even more so in Italy.”
Venier recalled that the EU imports from Russia (pipes + LNG) have regained share in 2024 for a total of 58 billion cubic meters, while the share of LNG imports (RoW) fell from 39% to 31% in 2024. The fill level of EU gas storage is at 72% (as of 31 December 2024) , versus 86% in 2023.