Natural gas buyers in the European Union participating in the bloc’s coordinated gas purchasing platform can now offer six-month contracts for potential suppliers during a buyer-vendor partnership of up to five years, an official announcement said.
The first application round for the so-called mid-term tenders under the AggregateEU platform opens February 15, the Directorate-General of Energy said. The coordinated regional gas buying platform was initially only meant for the 2023–24 winter season but the EU is now legislating the platform as a permanent measure, citing lessons from the prolonged effects of the energy crisis.
“In early 2024, with the effects of the energy crisis still not over, AggregateEU is introducing a different concept of mid-term tenders in order to address the growing demand for stability and predictability from buyers and sellers of natural gas”, the directorate explained in a news release. “Under such tenders, buyers will be able to submit their demand for seasonal 6-month periods (for a minimum 1,800,000 MWh for LNG and 30,000 for NBP per period), going from April 2024 to October 2029. This is intended to support sellers in identifying buyers who might be interested in a longer trading partnership – i.e. up to 5 years”.
NBP gas, or National Balancing Point gas, refers to gas from the national transmission systems of EU states.
“Mid-term tenders will not only increase security of supply but also help European industrial players increase their competitiveness”, the directorate added.
Under AggregateEU, companies in the 27-member bloc can pool demand, negotiate with suppliers and coordinate collective purchases.
The matchmaking service, created under Council Regulation 2022/2576 of December 19, 2022, is part of the broader EU Energy Platform for coordinated purchases of gas and hydrogen. The Energy Platform was formed 2022 as part of the REPowerEU strategy for achieving energy independence from Russia in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine.
AggregateEU has so far held four rounds, under which global suppliers offered 61 billion cubic meters (2.2 trillion cubic feet), exceeding the demand placed by European companies, the press statement said.
“After seeking the most competitive offers, AggregateEU matched more than 42 bcm [1.5 tcf] to cover European demand”, it said.
European Commission Executive Vice-President Maros Sefcovic told a webinar with stakeholders about the new AggregateEU, “Looking forward, with buyers and sellers still calling for market predictability, we have managed to prepare and reach an agreement on new legislation that will turn the joint purchase of gas into a permanent instrument”.
“Therefore, we will continue organizing the joint purchase of gas on a voluntary basis, while seeking to make it more attractive”, Sefcovic added, as quoted in the media release.
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