Prices ease as Norwegian gas pipeline supply returns from scheduled maintenance
The NBP saw another sharp reversal on Friday as the Winter 26 front-season contract dropped 7.3p/therm (0.24p/kWh), completely wiping out Thursday’s gains.
Bearish sentiment was largely driven by an impending drop in scheduled Norwegian maintenance; Gassco data shows offline capacity falling from 112.37mcm on Monday to 74.07mcm on Tuesday, before steadily unwinding to 19.8mcm over the following week.
Even so, supply remains constrained by an extended compressor outage at the Troll field, which will remove 46.2mcm across today and tomorrow.
Pressure was further amplified by an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days, though the offer was ultimately rejected by the US administration over the weekend.
Baseload power prices tracked gas lower on Friday, with both markets closing at a weekly discount despite a slightly firmer gas-for-power picture.
Wind output held steady, edging from 28.7% to 28.8% of the stack, while gas-fired generation rose from 28.8% to 32.3% to overtake wind as the largest source.
It covered softer solar and marginally lower nuclear output. Renewables slipped just below half of the mix at 49.9%.
With the domestic fundamentals offering little bearish impetus, power’s losses largely reflected the easing in natural gas and crude oil.
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Price commentary courtesy of Crown Gas and Power 