LNG

GRTgaz, the French natural gas transmission company with three liquefied natural gas import terminals under its control through subsidiary Elengy, said it had seen a shortfall in Russian supplies and this was being offset with LNG cargoes and additional pipeline flows from Norway.

“We are not currently experiencing any difficulties in supplying or transporting gas over the French network,” said GRTGaz.

“Onshore gas inputs from northeast France, the location at which Russian pipeline gas arrives in the country, are continuing, but at levels below those seen in previous years,” explained the company, headquartered at Bois-Colombes in the northwest suburbs of Paris.

“This decrease is being offset by sustained supplies of LNG, as well as pipeline gas supplies from Norway,” stated GRTGaz.

The company noted that the European Union natural gas market was potentially fast-changing and GRTGaz was making sure that it had solutions for all eventualities.

“As France's main gas transport operator, GRTgaz is part of the system in place to ensure a secure supply,” explained the company.

“As such, it works closely alongside the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, supervising the situation,” it added.

Emergency options

GRTGaz was also working with other French and European gas infrastructure companies, under the supervision of the public authorities, on developing solutions should Russian gas supplies cease.

“We aim to be able to maintain our storage levels over the forthcoming months and provide consumers with gas until next winter,” it stated.

“We are also working with those of our clients who might find themselves affected, ensuring that the measures in place in the event of load-shedding for consumers on the transport and distribution networks being required are properly shared. These measures would only be applicable as a last resort,” declared GRTGaz.

GRTgaz said in its annual review that terminal subsidiary Elengy received 176 LNG cargoes in 2021 at the three terminals in Western and Southern France at Montoir-de-Bretagne, Fos Tonkin and Fos Cavaou. France's fourth import terminal is at the Channel port of Dunkirk.

The terminals also handled six cargo re-loadings, 10 trans-shipments and 14,715 tanker truck LNG loadings during the year.

GRTgaz ensures the pipeline transportation of gas throughout France, though in the southwest the grid is run by regional network company Teréga.

GRTgaz had been receiving fewer transits last year, whether to Spain, which benefited from very sustained supplies from Algeria or to Switzerland (and Italy), which benefited from the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline carrying natural gas from Azerbaijan on the Caspian Sea to southern Italy.

Large network

GRTgaz is the EU’s second-largest European natural gas transporter after Italy with 32,500 kilometres of pipelines and 640 terawatt hours of gas transported in 2021.

The Italian natural gas pipeline network is almost 50,000km in length.

The other GRTgaz subsidiaries include GRTgaz Deutschland, operator of the German MEGAL transmission network.

The MEGAL pipeline system is 1,160km in length and runs from the German-French border at Medelsheim via the Czech Republic's border point with Germany at Waidhaus to the bi-directional cross-border point at the German-Austrian border in Oberkappel.

The MEGAL pipeline system consists of two pipelines: the MEGAL Nord (North) pipeline and the MEGAL Süd (South) pipeline.