French natural gas transmission network operator, GRTgaz on Friday said that low deliveries of LNG to the Fos Cavaou terminal in Fos-sur-Mer have created supply bottlenecks in the South-East.
Due to the cold snap, which is expected to continue in the coming days, according to GRTgaz, coupled with the low amount of gas emitted from the terminal, the gas withdrawal from the Saline storages has increased significantly, reaching the lowest level for this period in the last five years.
The company noted that LNG deliveries would be relied upon during the winter to secure the gas supply in France’s South-East.
“With no arrival in the short term of LNG to the terminal of Fos-sur-Mer, the withdrawal of the storages from Saline storages group remains nevertheless the only solution to meet the immediate need,” the operator said in its statement.
France imports 98 percent of its natural gas with 30 percent of that coming in the form of liquefied natural gas.
The company added that in the medium-term, the southern hub needs to have sufficient storages in order to cope with the end of the winter.
Operated by Fosmax LNG, a unit of Elengy, which is an Engie company, the Fos Cavaou terminal, located on the Mediterranean coast, 50 km west of Marseille has a 330,000-cbm LNG storage capacity and is capable of regasifying 8.25 billion cubic meters per year, the equivalent of around a sixth of French natural gas consumption.