Europe should be ‘fine’ on gas with mild winter: Equinor CEO

Europe should be able to navigate the coming winter "fine" if weather proves mild, even with gas stocks lagging levels seen in prior years, the CEO of Norway's Equinor said Oct. 6.

"With a mild winter, Europe will be fine," Anders Opedal told Platts, part of S&P Global energy, on the sidelines of the Energy Intelligence Forum in London.

Norway is a key gas supplier for Europe, and Equinor, in turn, is the central player in the Norwegian gas space. Last year, Norway accounted for nearly one-third of the EU's imports, according to data from the European Commission. Equinor, meanwhile, markets and sells about 70% of gas output from the Norwegian Continental Shelf, according to its website.

Opedal's comments dovetail with a recent assessment from European gas experts, who said EU gas supply remains stable, even as the war in the Middle East continues to roil global markets.

Still, high prices remain a concern. EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen last month urged EU energy ministers to take measures where possible to curb gas and power demand amid elevated prices.

Platts assessed the month-ahead Dutch TTF gas price at €73.09/megawatt-hour on Oct. 5. While the index has eased from recent highs, it remains some 79.6% higher than the same time last year.

Opedal argued it was "difficult to say" how much gas demand destruction Europe could see if prices remain elevated. Thus far, he stressed, Equinor has seen relatively resilient demand out of the continent.

"At the moment, even with higher prices that we have seen over the last months, we have seen fairly stable demand in Europe," he said. "So far, we don't see it [demand destruction]."

Still, Opedal conceded that Europe's relatively low gas storage adds "more uncertainty" heading into colder months.

EU gas storage was filled to 72.7% as of Oct. 4, according to the latest data from Gas Infrastructure Europe. At the same time, in 2025 and 2024, it was filled to 82.8% and 94.3%, respectively.

Analysts with S&P Global Energy CERA recently projected gas demand across the EU and UK in the fourth quarter dropping 5.4% year over year to 1.233 billion cubic meters/day. They cited several factors driving the dip, including demand destruction amid elevated wholesale prices.

Long-term contracts

Beyond the coming winter, Opedal also explained at the London forum that European companies are signing more long-term gas contracts locking down offtake into the coming decades.

"We have companies in Europe entering into long-term contracts with us for gas all the way into the 2040s, and that gives a very clear demand signal that gas is needed in Europe also while transitioning," the CEO said during a session at the forum. "The industries in Europe are willing to enter into more long-term contracts to ensure that they have the necessary supply."