The first medium-term gas market tender under the EU’s energy platform closed last night attracting bids for a total volume of 97.4 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas, a quantity that meets the demand of European consumers. Through the AggregateEU ​​mechanism, the Commission last week aggregated 34 bcm of gas demand from 19 companies. These volumes were tendered and the quantities offered for supply are almost three times the demand. Suppliers and consumers are now matched through the AggregateEU ​​platform and companies will be able to start bilateral contract negotiations.

Executive Vice-President Mr. Maros Šefšović said: “Today marks another positive milestone for the work of the EU Energy Platform. Through coordination and cooperation, we are strengthening Europe’s energy security in a challenging geopolitical context. The offers exceed the collective demand and are even more than three times that! This is an amazing result. It demonstrates once again that AggregateEU ​​has emerged as a dynamic market for buyers and reliable international gas suppliers, and that it supports the competitiveness of our industry by keeping prices stable for the benefit of consumers.”

Under the first medium-term tender, buyers could submit gas demand for multiple 6-month periods, for up to 5 years, from April 2024 to October 2029. The medium-term tender is a new service, offered by the Commission in AggregateEU’s framework for matching buyers and sellers beyond the short-term crisis we have faced over the past two winters. This new product aims to provide participating companies with stability and predictability of supply in the coming years and is based on the crisis response mechanism created in 2023.

Other competitions, both short and medium term, will follow throughout the year. At the end of last year, EU co-legislators reached a provisional political agreement on the hydrogen and carbon-free gases package, which will make the joint gas market a permanent instrument.

Katerina Plati