Wholesale prices fluctuate within a narrow range
Gas prices fluctuated within a narrow range on Thursday, influenced by upcoming maintenance in Norway and increasing storage injections.
The May 25 front-month contract declined by approximately 0.4p/therm (0.014p/kWh), while the Winter 25 front-season contract edged 0.6p/therm (0.020p/kWh) higher when compared to its previous close.
Data from Norwegian pipeline operator Gassco indicates that planned maintenance will remove 20.6mcm/d starting 26th April, gradually increasing to 77.38 mcm/d by 3rd May. This latest round of capacity restrictions comes as a result of planned works at the Troll field and Kollsnes processing facility, with the latter not expected to conclude until at least 9th May.
Offline capacity from Norway, Europe’s largest pipeline supplier, will remain elevated until early July, raising the risk of delayed works and tighter supplies over the next few weeks.
On the storage front, there has been a steady increase in injections to EU facilities over the past couple of weeks as milder weather sets in moving deeper into spring.
As of Sunday, aggregate storage facilities stood at 37.04% full, which is still 25.14% below the same day last year. This raises concerns about the region’s ability to sufficiently restock in time for next winter (data from Gas Infrastructure Europe).
In other news, British major BP plc confirmed in a press release on Thursday that the first LNG shipment from the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) Phase 1 project had been safely loaded off the coasts of Mauritania and Senegal.
This new project establishes the two Northwest African nations as exporters of the super-chilled fuel and will help to sure up global LNG volumes.
The project’s first phase comes ahead of what is expected to be a hotter-than-average summer in Asia, followed by what is shaping up to be a tight European winter in terms of supplies.
The NBP has opened in bearish territory this morning, with the Winter 25 front-season contract currently being offered at a discount of circa 2.5p/therm (0.85p/kWh) when compared to Thursday close, eroding some of the net gains the market saw last week.
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Price commentary courtesy of Crown Gas and Power 