Prices forced up amid tightening Norwegian gas flows

NBP near-curve gas prices increased further on Thursday amid tightening Norwegian gas flows.

Exports via the Langeled pipeline continued to decline, with nominations dropping further to 49.9mcm and expected to fall further today to 43.8mcm.

Offline capacity heading into the weekend stands at 45.67mcm, exacerbated by a new 5mcm unplanned outage at Norway’s Troll field.

Increased reliance on Norwegian exports, due in part to a gradual, downward trend in UK production year-on-year may be amplifying the bullish nature of large-scale maintenance works.

Updates regarding Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations have quietened over the past few days, meaning participants have likely returned their focus to supply and demand fundamentals.

A bullish wider energy complex and tightening gas supplies continued to support the baseload power curve on Thursday. Sharp gains on the carbon market over the course of this week may have helped to spur on the bull run seen across this week.

According to data from ICE, the Carbon EUA benchmark contract rose 1.9% when compared to its previous close, contributing to gains on both gas and power seasonal contracts.

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Price commentary courtesy of Crown Gas and Power