Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.
Sheikh Qassem: The government’s latest decision [on the disarmament of the Resistance] is non-charter-based, and if the government continues down this path, it is not faithful to Lebanon’s sovereignty.

EU depleting gas reserves at fastest pace since onset of energy crisis

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Financial Times
  • 24 Dec 2024 14:21
  • 5 Shares
3 Min Read

Data from Gas Infrastructure Europe shows that the volume of gas in storage sites across the EU has dropped by about 19% from the end of September.

Listen
  • x
  • European gas
    Pipes at the landfall facilities of the 'Nord Stream 2' gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, northern Germany, on February 15, 2022. (AP)

The European Union is depleting its gas storage facilities at the fastest rate since the energy crisis three years ago, driven by increased demand due to cold weather and a decline in sea-borne imports, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

The volume of gas in storage sites across the EU has dropped by about 19% from the end of September, when the gas refill season ended, to mid-December this year, the newspaper emphasized, citing data from Gas Infrastructure Europe.

In contrast, the past two years saw only single-digit declines during the same period, as higher-than-usual temperatures helped keep storage levels relatively full until the winter heating season, and industrial demand was tempered by high prices.

Natasha Fielding, Head of European Gas Pricing at Argus Media, explained that "Europe has had to rely much more on its underground stores so far this winter than in the past two years to make up for lower liquefied natural gas imports and to meet stronger demand."

The Financial Times noted that Europe has also faced increased competition for liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Asian buyers, who were drawn to prices that have become lower than in recent years.

It noted that this has led to a slowdown in imports and a greater need to withdraw from stored reserves.

Related News

Why Europe's regulatory power is no longer enough: FT

Europe's Trump concessions risk democracy, trade losses: FT op-ed

The newspaper highlighted that the last time gas storage facilities were depleted at this pace by mid-December was in 2021 when Russia began cutting off gas supplies via pipelines before entering its war with Ukraine.

Trump tells EU to buy US oil, gas or face tariffs: Financial Times

Last week, the Financial Times reported that US President-elect Donald Trump has warned the EU that it must agree to purchase "large scale" amounts of US oil and gas or face tariffs.

“I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large-scale purchase of our oil and gas. Otherwise, it is TARIFFS all the way!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Friday.

Trump's threat comes after Brussels had already expressed interest in purchasing more US-liquefied natural gas, which has become crucial for the EU following Russia's reduction of fossil fuel supplies after it invaded Ukraine.

In November, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that the EU would consider increasing its purchase of gas from the US, according to FT.

“We still get a lot of LNG from Russia and why not replace it with American LNG, which is cheaper for us and brings down our energy prices,” she told reporters.

“It seems odd as a ‘threat’ given that von der Leyen alluded to the possibility of doing precisely this,” one EU official observed.

Read more: EU imports more Russian gas than US for the first time in two years

  • Europe
  • EU
  • European Union
Russia & NATO

Russia & NATO

As the Draconian Western-led sanctions on Russia exacerbate the economic crisis worldwide, and as Russian troops gain more ground despite the influx of military aid into Ukraine, exposing US direct involvement in bio-labs spread across Eastern Europe and the insurgence of neo-Nazi groups… How will things unfold?

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS