European states face difficulties with filling gas storage next winter against the backdrop of the refusal of energy from the Russian Federation. This is indicated by an update to the report of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the prospects for the development of the world economy, published on Monday, January 30.
It is noted that at the moment gas prices turned out to be lower than expected, and savings made it possible to avoid a shortage of resources in the heating season, but forecasts for the future can hardly be called optimistic.
“Resupplying with significantly reduced supplies from Russia will be a difficult task ahead of next winter, especially in the event of very cold weather and rising energy demand in China, which will cause price spikes,” the IMF said in a report.
Earlier, on January 28, Bloomberg cited Patrick Pouyanne, head of oil and gas company Total in France, who expressed the opinion that the situation with LNG in the European Union could worsen in 2023. European companies will look for alternative gas suppliers, but it is not known how much more profitable their proposals will be, he added.
In addition, back in early November, the International Energy Agency published a report according to which Europe may face gas shortages by the start of the heating season in 2023-2024.
Western countries decided to reduce their dependence on Russian energy resources against the backdrop of a special operation of the Russian Federation to protect Donbass, the beginning of which was announced on February 24. However, as a result of such actions of states, everything turned into economic problems in Europe.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
