Dear reader,
With a 25 percent share of primary energy consumption, natural gas is and will remain an important energy source for industry and households in Germany. At the same time, Germany acts as a gas hub in the heart of Europe, through which natural gas is exported to neighboring countries.
The structure of the natural gas market has changed fundamentally since 2022. Just four years ago, Germany was sourcing 40 percent of its total demand from Russia via pipeline. To compensate for these volumes, imports from Norway and the Netherlands, for example, have been increased and LNG terminals have been built on the North Sea and Baltic coasts. This has also reversed the main direction of transportation to the west-east. By setting up the necessary LNG infrastructure and connecting it to the German transport system in a very short space of time, the transmission system operators (TSOs) have made a significant contribution to the integration and increased importance of LNG.
Not least the current developments in the Persian Gulf clearly show, however, that these additional import capacities via LNG cannot be a substitute for natural gas storage and that storage remains systemically relevant.
In light of these developments, we need a new perspective on the issue of security of supply. The TSOs are constructively involved in this discussion as responsible and independent players.
The current issue of the FNB’s familiar Winter Review is now our new Security of Supply Report, in which, as usual, we look back on the winter of 2025/2026 and also focus on the role of storage facilities and the new situation regarding the refilling of storage facilities. In this context, we have further developed our combined natural gas security of supply model consisting of storage-based security in emergency situations and a market-based supplier obligation.
I hope you find our first Security of Supply 2026 report interesting.
Dr. Matthias Jenn, Chairman of the Executive Board FNB Gas
