German gas supply diversification ensures imports, but at a price, Equinor says

By Nora Buli

OSLO, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Germany, where gas storage filling levels are at a historic low, will be able to attract the natural gas it needs for this winter but should be prepared for high prices, a senior executive at Norwegian energy producer Equinor said on Tuesday.

Germany's diversification of import sources since the 2022 energy crisis, when it lost Russian gas pipeline supplies, has been "super important", Equinor's head of marketing, midstream and processing, Irene Rummelhoff, told a conference in Oslo.

"I think even though your storages are quite empty still... you will be in a position to attract enough and import enough," Rummelhoff told the German-Norwegian gathering of energy executives and officials.

Since 2022, Norway emerged as Germany's single biggest gas supplier, most of it delivered via a vast pipeline system, but Germany has also built up several import terminals for liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Meanwhile, gas storage sites in Germany are only 53% full - the lowest in 15 years of records - and the country risks shortages in the event of a very cold winter, the country's storage industry group INES said earlier on Tuesday.

"Prices are going to be another issue. So you need to be prepared for that, but the diversification is good," Rummelhoff said.

Europe's benchmark gas contract for front-month deliveries at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) is trading at its highest level since January 2023.

Prices rose rapidly in recent weeks as the war between the United States and Iran is hampering Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports via the Strait of Hormuz, increasing competition between Asian and Europe for alternative LNG supplies.

(Reporting by Nora Buli, editing by Terje Solsvik)