Pricewatch | 05 Jul 2022 | Gas Matters Today

European gas prices recorded strong gains on Monday, lifted by fresh supply concerns due to oil workers in Norway striking this week.

UK marker NBP posted the strongest gain in percentage terms at the start of the week, with the front-month contract settling 17.7% higher at the equivalent of USD 34.18/MMBtu. Dutch gas benchmark TTF closed 10.4% higher at the equivalent of USD 49.8/MMBtu.

The rally was pinned on oil workers in Norway striking on Tuesday.

Equinor confirmed on Tuesday morning that it had shuttered the Gudrun, Oseberg South and Oseberg East fields “after members of the Norwegian Organisation of Managers and Executives (Lederne) trade union went on strike from midnight.”

“A further extension of the strike has been notified for the Heidrun, Kristin and Aasta Hansteen fields, taking effect from the night before Wednesday 6 July. To Equinor this means that the above-mentioned installations will perform a controlled shutdown of production, including the Tyrihans field, which is tied to the Kristin platform,” the Norwegian firm added.

The shutdowns are expected to cut Norway’s daily gas exports by ~13%.

As for Russian pipeline flows, volumes via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline were slipping further on Tuesday morning, however nominations suggest NS1 flows will pick up around midday, one trade source told Gas Matters Today.

Oil prices continued to climb on Monday amid ongoing supply concerns stemming from unrest in Libya, OPEC opting to stick with its production quota for August and the G7 examining a price cap on Russian crude exports.

CME’s Henry Hub, JKM and API2 coal contracts remained unchanged on Monday as there was a public holiday in the US.

Front-month futures and indexes at last close with day-on-day changes (click to enlarge):

Time references based on London GMT. Brent, WTI, NBP, TTF and EU CO2 data from ICE. Henry Hub, JKM and API2 data from CME. Prices in USD/MMBtu based on exchange rates at last market close. All monetary values rounded to nearest whole cent/penny. Text and graphic copyright © Gas Strategies, all rights.