On Wednesday (10 May) the European Commission launched the first-ever international tender for joint purchasing of EU gas supplies, through the recently-created AggregateEU mechanism.
In the first tender, 63 European companies submitted requests for a total volume of 11.625 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas demand. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand represents 2.697 bcm, while 8.928 bcm is requested for pipeline delivery, the Commission said.
International gas suppliers, excluding Russia, are now invited to respond to this tender by submitting their bids by 15 May. This first tendering round covers gas deliveries from June 2023 until May 2024.
“With AggregateEU, we have created a new marketplace in Europe, which will increase our energy security ahead of the next winter and help fill our gas storages. This is also an opportunity for international gas suppliers to expand their customers’ base. This is a win-win exercise,” said Maroš Šefčovič, Vice President of the European Commission.
Joint EU gas procurement was initiated last year in response to the energy crisis, which is open to all EU Member States and Contracting Parties of the Energy Community (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine).
Further tenders will follow the next demand aggregation exercises, “tentatively scheduled” in June, August, October and December 2023, the Commission said. Thus far, more than 100 companies have subscribed to participate in joint gas purchasing via AggregateEU.
