Dutch State Company Starts Grijpskerk Injections After Shell-ExxonMobil Access Deal
EBN's restart at one of the Netherlands' key storage sites adds supply capacity as European gas storage runs at its lowest level since 2018.
Energiebeheer Nederland began injecting gas into the Grijpskerk storage facility over the weekend of July 5-6, GIE data showed, following an access agreement with Shell-ExxonMobil joint venture NAM that had held up operations at the Dutch site.5
Europe entered this year's injection season with roughly 31 billion cubic metres in storage — the lowest starting point since 2018 — leaving the continent heavily dependent on injection rates over the coming months to avoid a winter supply squeeze.4 ICE Endex TTF front-month gas was trading at €44.93 on Monday (2026-07-06), up 0.49% on the day, with injection pace one of the key variables markets are pricing.
EU storage had reached around 28% capacity — approximately 314 TWh or 29 billion cubic metres — as of April 1 (2026-04-01), GIE data showed, a level significantly below the previous three years.2 Injections across Europe have been running roughly 20% below last year's pace, at around 200 million cubic metres per day. At that rate, EU storage would reach approximately 70% by early November — well short of the existing 90% mandatory utilisation target.3
Negative summer-winter spreads have been the immediate commercial barrier. TTF seasonal spreads averaged around minus €1.2/MWh over the refill period, according to European gas hub data, stripping the incentive for merchant operators to inject at pace when the economics require a positive carry.3 Brussels has acknowledged the problem: the European Commission is weighing a reduction in the mandatory storage target from 90% to 80%, a shift intended to reduce the risk of a destabilising late-season bidding war that would push prices higher.4
The Grijpskerk case illustrates a secondary layer of complexity beyond spread economics. Shell-ExxonMobil's NAM controls subsurface rights at the site, requiring a commercial access arrangement before EBN — the state-owned operator — could begin using it.5 The resolution of that dispute means the site is now operational, adding to available injection capacity at a critical point in the refill calendar.
Industry groups have been pressing for structural intervention. Senior members of Gas Infrastructure Europe urged the European Commission to consider contracts for difference as a subsidy mechanism for strategic storage capacity, arguing that market signals alone will not produce sufficient injection volumes to meet security-of-supply requirements.1 The CFD model would underwrite the summer-winter spread risk that commercial operators are currently absorbing — or choosing not to absorb.
Europe's infrastructure is not the constraint. The bloc holds around 1,131 TWh of storage capacity and approximately 1,600 TWh of LNG regasification capacity, according to GIE.2 In 2018, when storage fell to 19 billion cubic metres — lower than the current starting point — the system responded with a record 74 billion cubic metres of injections over the following seven months.4 But that episode played out under price conditions that rewarded injections. As of Monday (2026-07-06), negative spreads create the opposite incentive.
Grijpskerk's restart adds one facility to the ledger. The broader test is whether the pace across Europe accelerates to close the gap, or whether the Commission's potential target reduction effectively ratifies a lower winter buffer and pushes the supply risk into colder months.