France does not risk a shortage of gas or oil in the short term, even if Russia interrupts its deliveries in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, assured Wednesday the Minister of Ecological Transition, Barbara Pompili.
“Even if Russia had stopped its exports, which is not on the agenda, currently we do not run any risks in terms of energy supplies, whether it is fuel or gas”, underlined the minister in the Senate.
“We have significant strategic oil stocks which cover almost three months of consumption and allow us to deal with supply disruptions. The French are not at risk of running out of fuel or gas for heating in the coming months” , said Ms. Pompili.
A few hours earlier, France had welcomed Berlin’s suspension of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project linking Germany to Russia, as part of the first sanctions in reaction to the recognition of the separatists that Kiev has been fighting for eight years.
“Germany realizes that energy independence is priceless,” said Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire on BFM TV / RMC, referring to the “absolute necessity” of independence in the face of the soaring oil and gas prices.
In the Senate, Senator (PS) François Bonneau stressed that France might not think that this conflict would have “no impact on it”, and that the risk was “particularly great in terms of energy”.
“The government is currently monitoring the situation very closely,” replied Barbara Pompili.
The minister said she met on Tuesday with the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, repeating her call for a structural reform of the European electricity market. She also indicated that France was in “regular contact with the United States government to consider coordinated actions if the situation warranted it”.
GRTgaz, the manager of most of the French gas network, had indicated at the beginning of February that the supply did not cause any particular concern despite the low Russian deliveries to Europe.
A too cold end of winter might however make “the balance of the system difficult”, had underlined the director of GRTgaz.
At the end of January, French storage was 33% full, a little less than in recent years.
Norway remains by far France’s main supplier (36%), ahead of Russia (17%), Algeria (8%) and the Netherlands (8%).
