Germany considers creating national gas reserve

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany is considering setting up a natural gas reserve to reduce its dependency on imports from Russia, a spokeswoman for the Economy Ministry said on Friday.

Germany relies on Russia for about 44 percent of its gas imports, according to government information, and in recent years Moscow has cut off energy supplies to some of its neighbours on a number of occasions.


The conflict between Russia and Georgia has heightened awareness in Germany about its dependence on Russian gas.

There was a risk in being too dependent on one region as a source for gas, the Economy Ministry spokeswoman told a regular government news conference.

“For that reason, the Economy Ministry is consulting with companies, and on a European and international level, to see if we need something for crisis management, a storage system, as we have for oil … in case it becomes necessary,” she said.

Reuters