Memories of the painful price hikes following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 are still fresh in the minds of many Europeans but specialists believe the impact should be less this time for the region.

- Limited exposure to Qatari LNG -

Europe is much less dependent on LNG shipped by tanker from Qatar than it was on Russian gas transported by pipeline at the start of the war in Ukraine.

The Russian invasion "called into question 40 percent of Europe's gas supplies", Catherine MacGregor, chief executive of French energy group Engie, was quoted as saying in an interview with Le Monde.

The International Gas Union, an industry trade union, said LNG only covered four percent of global gas demand.

MacGregor also noted that LNG produced by Qatar and the United Arab Emirates was primarily being sold to Asian nations.

- Possible price hikes -

The strikes on LNG facilities provoked sharp rises in Europe's gas prices.

The benchmark European wholesale price jumped 35 percent on Thursday to close the day up 13 percent at 61.85 euros per megawatt hour.

It dipped two percent in trading on Friday.

The IEEFA think tank noted that the increase put European gas prices at their highest level for three years, but Engie's MacGregor said the levels were still far from the 320 euros per megawatt hour after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In France, households will not feel the increase in the wholesale price of gas on their bills until May, when the heating season is over.

But "if gas prices are still high when it starts to get cold again and it accumulates" the impact will be considerable on households, said Emmanuelle Wargon, head of France energy regulator, on RMC radio.

However European nations must soon begin to fill up their storage facilities for next winter, and official data shows their reserves are currently below the five-year average at 28.7 percent.

- Will there be enough gas this winter? -

The situation varies widely between countries.

Italy, which has one of the largest storage capacities, had stocks that were nearly half full (44 percent).

Germany showed a fill rate of 22 percent, similar to that of France, although France is less dependent on gas.

The Netherlands is at just seven percent.

According to forecasts by Engie, France's main supplier, there is no risk of a shortage even if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed for an extended period.

"We'll manage to fill our storage facilities up to 70 percent before next winter," said MacGregor.

She noted that new LNG facilities were due to open this year in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

These additional supplies will "help absorb the shock" before a bigger wave of new facilities go online in 2027 and 2028.

- Reducing dependence -

"No European economy is fully shielded from rising fossil fuel costs and their macroeconomic ripple effects," said Luke O'Callaghan-White at E3G, an independent climate change think tank.

"However, the impacts will not be evenly felt: countries more reliant on gas are significantly more exposed, while those with a larger share of renewables are more insulated."

But even those countries that have built lots of wind turbine and solar parks will be affected as electricity prices in Europe are determined based upon the price of the last source called upon to provide power.

When expensive gas-fired power plants are called upon, the price of electricity climbs.

Ana Maria Jaller-Makarewicz, an analyst at the IEEFA think tank said the EU only needed to follow through with its plan to boost renewables through 2030.

"The EU could -- within a single year -- cut gas demand by as much as its annual imports of Qatari LNG," she said.

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