I said it more than a decade ago, and I’ll say it again: Europe could have played the role of market maker for LNG. The capacity is there—vast underground caverns ready to swallow oceans of excess gas when the seas are sloshing with it, and to release it again when cargoes are needed elsewhere. A system of balance, of stability. Not flawless, but possible—with modest effort and a touch of foresight.Asia, above all, would have paid handsomely for such flexibility. But Europe, as always, looked away. Why seize a market opportunity, why build what the world needs, when it’s so much easier to cry “emergency” and siphon taxpayer billions into the pockets of favored gas players? No imagination required, no hard work demanded. Just another crisis to be managed theatrically, another fortune conjured from fear.
