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(Bloomberg) — The Dutch government is confident the country will secure enough natural gas inventories ahead of this winter and plans to establish an “emergency reserve” starting in 2026 — seeking to ease trader concerns over sluggish storage injections.
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Stockpiles are in line with the European Union’s thresholds for this month and on track to hit the national target of 80% by November, said Tim van Dijk, spokesman for the Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth. State-owned energy company EBN BV, mandated to help with gas stockpiling, already started injections into one of the country’s sites, he said.
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Traders have been watching Dutch reserves as they’ve been lagging behind peers such as France, Italy and Austria. The country is a relatively small energy consumer, but it’s a key trading hub, home to the continent’s gas benchmark.
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Dutch storage sites are just over 50% full, the lowest level for this time of year since 2021. Its largest storage site, Bergermeer, saw slow capacity bookings earlier this year, although it’s about 64% full now.
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EBN has a standing mandate to inject up to 20 terawatt-hours into Bergermeer — if and when necessary — as well as 5 terawatt-hours into the smaller PGI Alkmaar site, and has already started filling the latter, van Dijk said, adding that other elements of the strategy are not public. The injections began this month, data from industry group Gas Infrastructure Europe show.
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The state has also decided to start building an emergency reserve in Alkmaar starting next year, while the final volume has not yet been decided, he said. The government is working on a legislative proposal at the moment.
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The country’s dependence on imports has surged in recent years as its domestic production plunged. Network operator Nederlandse Gasunie NV called for creating an emergency buffer for “prolonged disruptions to gas supply.” Several EU members maintain a strategic gas reserve, including Italy, Austria and Poland, while Germany is examining if it needs one.
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