In the third tender Germany seeks innovation proposals with a combined capacity of 397.2 MW and a price cap of about €7c/kWh.

The recent fall in European gas prices may not last, according to Italian energy major Eni SpA. “It’s a temporary situation,” Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi said in Abu Dhabi. “We have problems in 2023 because in 2023 we don’t have Russian gas.”

The push to fill storage facilities before the start of winter has been successful -- with many close to capacity. But some suppliers may now want to hold back those reserves until they can sell their stored gas at more attractive rates.

Dutch front-month gas, Europe’s benchmark, rose 3.4% to €111 per megawatt-hour at 8:57 a.m. in Amsterdam, paring some of the weekly decline.

While US fuel now makes up 40% of Europe’s liquefied natural gas imports, it will only offset a fraction of the deficit from Russia next summer,

Lower Russian supplies sent European gas prices to all-time highs in late August though prices have come down sharply as storage sites across the EU were filled to close to capacity.

The other cap in the mix is one to limit the price of gas used in electricity generation, which is backed by a vociferous group of member states.

During the consultation the government is seeking opinions and recommendations on three major issues: how energy consumption can be adapted in order for France to reach climate neutral by 2050; how energy demand can be met whilst reducing dependency on fossil fuels; and how to plan, implement and finance the energy transition.

China's crude imports from Russia have continued to stay elevated through 2022, averaging at 1.71 million b/d over January-August, up 7.3% year on year, according to customs data.

Caps on gas prices top the political agenda in Europe as governments seek to rein in an unprecedented energy crisis triggered by a cut of gas shipments by Russia, the continent’s former biggest supplier.

Benchmark futures declined as much as 12%, and are about 70% lower from the highs of August.

This €200bn package is expected to include a €96bn subsidy scheme which was introduced earlier in October 2022.

The REPowerEU plan, which aims to end the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels and tackle the climate crisis, will seek to raise the share of renewables in the region’s final energy consumption to 45% by 2030.

There is a huge potential fusion industry and businesses were urged to get involved in the supply chain now.

Benchmark futures declined as much as 4.8% on Friday and headed for a third straight weekly loss.