Winter has not yet arrived, but the European energy market has already started to shake. And not because there are new problems with Russian gas pipelines.
The winter that awaits us. The warning he issued the analyst Pedro Cantuel illustrates the problem: “The most important regasification plants in Europe, those in the Netherlands, are operating at maximum capacity.”
It is not a positive fact. These terminals are the main gateway for liquefied natural gas to the industrial heart of Europe. Its saturation is the prelude to higher gas prices. And gas is what marks the electricity bill in much of Europe.
And the Spanish regasification plants? Although Spain has the largest regasification capacity in the European Unionwith six active terminals, its ability to alleviate Europe’s thirst for gas is limited. The problem: the poor gas interconnection with France. The current bottleneck of the Pyrenees It barely allows the export of between 7,000 and 8,500 million cubic meters per year.
Therefore, all eyes are on the Netherlands. Its terminals, mainly Gate’s in Rotterdam and Eemshaven, are the true entry point for Germany and European industry.
In figures. Netherlands is the main LNG importer of the EU. Between June and August 2025 alone, it regasified more than 2,000 million cubic meters of gas. But according to the data of Gas Infrastructure Europeits terminals are constantly touching the all-time high.
The Dutch ports are saturated, there is no more LNG. And this has a direct effect on Germany, which since the sanctions against Russia imports 25% of the gas from the Netherlands. With the terminals of the neighboring country at 90-100% of their capacity, the room for maneuver due to a peak in demand due to a cold wave or any delay of a LNG tanker will immediately strain the system.
How it affects the invoice. As we have seen in recent years, any difficulty in accessing natural gas results in higher prices. The Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators documents in your reports a direct correlation between the high utilization rates of LNG terminals in northwest Europe and the increase in volatility and spreads (price differences) in the gas reference index in Europe.
We have changed dependence on a single supplier (Russian gas pipelines) for dependence on a single infrastructure that can now become the new bottleneck has moved from the gas pipeline to (European ports).
Efforts are already underway to expand port capacity. Gate, for example, is building a fourth tank to reach 20,000 million cubic meters per year. But it won’t be ready until 2026, so the reality for this winter is what it is: the system is operating at the limit of its capacity.
Image | Vopak
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