Germany, Europe’s largest natural gas user, will continue to be at risk of supply shortfalls for the next four years until additional gas storage capacity and LNG terminals can be placed online, according to the country’s gas storage system operator.

System operator Initiative Energien Speichern eV’s (INES) forecasters plotted outcomes for “normal, warm and cold temperatures” during the 2023-2024 winter season in its latest gas scenario report. Despite more than a year of mandated reductions in gas consumption, Germany in 2024 could face a supply gap under the cold temperature scenario of 7 TWh in January, 15 TWh in February and 12 TWh in March.

The “risk of a gas shortage in cold temperatures still exists and will probably continue to accompany us until the...