Stockholm natural gas storage

How does gas storage work in Sweden?

The storage is also used to manage imbalances in the gas system between consumption and import. Another use of the storage is to make a profit from price arbitrage, i.e. buying gas when the price is low and sell it later for a higher price. This option has, for different reasons, however not yet been used in Sweden.

How is natural gas stored?

Basically, it is an insurance against unforeseen supply needs. There are two methods for storing natural gas: LNG can be shipped and stored in liquid form. It takes up much less space than gaseous natural gas. It is shipped mostly on the seas. Most of the natural gas is stored in underground gas storages.

Does Sweden have natural gas?

Most of Sweden, including Stockholm, has no natural gas. The combined pressure of environmental NGOs and farmers stopped gas and led to the development of biomass instead. In most of Europe, fossil natural gas is considered a necessity. Not so in Sweden.

Is natural gas a necessity in Sweden?

In most of Europe, fossil natural gas is considered a necessity. Not so in Sweden. Only a small part of the country, essentially the coastal region from Malmö in the south to Gothenburg in the southwest, is connected to the European gas grid, from Denmark.

Is there a natural gas grid in Sweden?

For about 50 years there have been plans to build a natural gas grid covering much of Sweden, taking gas from Russia or Norway. Various consortia ran big lobbying campaigns several times, but little came of it. In 2013, Sweden used some 12 TWh of natural gas, slightly more than two per cent of primary energy. Gas is hardly used for heating homes.

How does a natural gas storage system work?

Natural gas is injected into the underground storages, and as more natural gas is added, more pressure is building up. It means that the underground facility becomes a sort of pressurized natural gas container. More natural gas means more pressure, so the extraction is easier.