'Sector Coupling' Could Prompt New EU Terminal Rules

European Commission officials are mulling a new regulatory framework for LNG terminals, according to Monika Zsigri, policy officer for the directorate-general of energy. Zsigir was speaking at the LNGgc conference in London October 9.

Zsigri noted that LNG imports into Europe had doubled year on year in the second quarter of 2019, mostly going into storage, providing an important role in bringing flexibility to the European energy system. She said it was clear that  electrification was going to grow and that the deployment of renewable energy sources had to increase in Europe to meet climate change targets.

One pathway to facilitate this transition would be to use Europe's gas system to provide the operational flexibility for greater electrification, a concept known as sector coupling. However, this would make the role of Europe's LNG terminals more important, potentially inviting regulation for regasification tariffs and greater transparency on gas quality.

A new European Commission is due to take office from November 1 and a new gas market package is expected next year.