March 21, New Delhi — The European Commission on Saturday urged European Union (EU) member states to lower their natural gas storage targets and begin refilling reserves gradually in order to curb demand following the disruption caused by the war in the Middle East and the resulting surge in energy prices.
EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen instructed member states to lower the filling target for their gas storage facilities to 80% of capacity, 10 percentage points below the EU's official targets, as early as possible in the filling season to provide certainty and reassurance to market participants.