Gazprom requests 42.4 mcm for transit via Ukraine, decides against cutting supply to Moldova
MOSCOW. Nov 28 (Interfax) - Russia's Gazprom has decided against lowering gas supply to Moldova from today due to gas intended for the country having been being "held back" in Ukraine. Officials in Chisinau have said that Moldova, which does not have underground gas storage facilities of its own, is using surplus gas to build its own inventory on the neighboring country's territory. Moreover Moldova says repeatedly that it would like to receive more Russian gas than at present. However the Russian gas giant said on Monday morning that breaches of payment for current Russian gas supplies to Moldova in November had been remedied and that it had received funds for gas it says has been held back in Ukraine.
Gazprom's overall request for pumping Russian gas through Ukraine today has not changed markedly from the previous days and months.
UKRAINIAN TRANSIT
Gas Transport System Operator of Ukraine, or GTSOU, has accepted a booking from Gazprom today to transport 42.4 million cubic meters of gas through the country, data from GTSOU show.
Capacity was requested only through one of two entry points into Ukraine's Gas Transport System, the Sudzha metering station. A request was not accepted through the Sokhranovka metering station.
GTSOU has declared a force majeure with respect to acceptance of gas for transit through Sokhranovka, claiming that it cannot control the Novopskov compressor station. The route through Sokhranovka had provided transit of more than 30 mcm of gas per day. Gazprom believes there are no grounds for the force majeure or obstacles to continuing operations as before.
A new challenge for Ukrainian transit was the virtual reverse of gas supply from Moldova to Ukraine or backhauling launched in September. Gazprom has said some Russian gas intended for delivery to Moldovan consumers as per a contract with Moldovagaz has been held back and accumulated in Ukraine as a result.
"If the transit imbalance through Ukraine for Moldovan consumers persists, then, on November 28, at 10:00 a.m., Gazprom will begin cutting gas supplies to the Sudzha metering system for transit through Ukraine in the amount of the daily shortfall," Gazprom said last week.
GTSOU said the nomination for gas supply via the Grebenki and Alexeyevka interconnection points with Moldova was 6 mcm, as previously, for Monday. However unlike the previous day, there was no backhaul nomination at Grebenki on the GTSOU website - a reverse nomination of 4.5 mcm was there on Sunday.
EUROPEAN MARKET
Temperatures in Europe have reached the seasonal average following unusually mild weather in October and early November, with preliminary average temperatures for the month only a degree higher than in November last year after October was three degrees warmer, though temperatures have been significantly colder in the second half of the month.
The latest forecast for this week in Europe is for a temperature three degrees lower than last week.
The German Federal Network Agency assesses the country's gas supply situation as strained and does not rule out further deterioration. The Bundesnetzagentur is urging consumers to save gas. According to the regulator, gas shortages in winter can be avoided primarily if a savings target of at least 20% is achieved.
The day-ahead contract for today at the Dutch TTF gas hub in the Netherlands closed at $1,344 per thousand cubic meters.
Wind turbines generated 18% of the EU's electricity on average last week following 19% on average in the week November 14-20, according to data from WindEurope.
The Nord Stream pipeline has been fully shut down owing to a number of sanctions-related problems regarding equipment maintenance. At the end of September, two lines of Nord Stream 1 and one line of Nord Stream 2 ruptured near the Danish island of Bornholm.
EUROPEAN INVENTORIES
Europe has begun withdrawing gas from its UGS facilities more intensively, and inventories in storage facilities are currently 94.94%, which is 10.1 percentage points above the five-year average.
Reserves "thinned" 0.07 percentage point during the November 26 gas day.
"The load on UGS facilities in Europe will be higher than in previous years owing to the changed logistics and sources of gas supplies to the European market," Gazprom has cautioned.
The beginning of offtake season on November 14 this year was the latest since Gas Infrastructure Europe began monitoring in 2011, with the previous latest date coming on November 4, 2013.
European LNG terminals have boosted regasification volumes in response to the lower temperatures, and the capacity utilization has been 67% since the beginning of November against an average of 60% in October.
U.S. INVENTORIES
The state of gas in UGS facilities in the United States is of increasing importance for the global market, and the country is actively increasing gas exports, primarily to Europe, while production is rising at a slower pace.
The U.S. has joined Europe in withdrawing gas from its UGS facilities. The latest reporting week ending November 18 saw 2.3 billion cubic meters of gas extracted from UGS facilities, slightly exceeding the usual rates for this time of year.
The current level of inventory is around 74%, which is just 1% lower than average for the past five years; nevertheless, the figure is substantially lower than inventories at UGS facilities in Europe and in Russia, according to the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration.
The EIA currently expects UGS stocks to drop by 60 billion cubic meters this winter to the average for the last five years. Natural gas volumes in storage facilities should total 40 bcm by the end of March, which would be 8% below the average for five years.