Importers holding long-term supply contracts will likely need more time to find alternative supply routes and sources than short-term contract holders because long-term supply contracts usually concern significantly larger volumes over time than short-term supply contracts. A transition period regarding the prohibition on gas imports for existing long-term supply contracts should therefore be introduced to give holders of long-term supply contracts sufficient time to diversify their supplies in an orderly manner. While LNG can be sourced world-wide and LNG customers usually face no physical barriers in switching to alternative suppliers on the LNG world-market, diversification for pipeline gas customers, notably in countries without LNG infrastructure, may be more complex. A longer transition period should therefore be granted for gas supplies under existing long-term pipeline supply contracts.
Text as published in the Official Journal, reproduced verbatim (including any typographical quirks of the source). For the authentic version, see EUR-Lex.
