Gazprom again boosts requests to 42.2 mcm for transit via Ukraine following weekend
MOSCOW. March 28 (Interfax) - Gas transit through Ukraine has risen again to the standard level following the conclusion of the weekend.
UKRAINIAN TRANSIT
The Gas Transport System Operator of Ukraine, or GTSOU, has accepted a booking from Gazprom today to transport 42.2 million cubic meters of gas through the country, and the figure was 40 mcm the previous day, data from the 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.
"Gazprom is supplying Russian gas for transit through the territory of Ukraine at the volume confirmed by the Ukraine side via the Sudzha metering station at 42.2 mcm on March 28, with booking via the Sokhranovka metering station declined," Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov told reporters.
The 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 that there are no grounds for the force majeure or obstacles to continuing operations as before.
EUROPEAN MARKET
The day-ahead contract for today at the Dutch TTF gas hub in the Netherlands closed at $481 per thousand cubic meters, up 4% for Monday.
A split between LNG prices in Asia and those in Europe has noticeably returned. In Asia, the most expensive futures contract for May on the JKM Platts index is $447 per thousand cubic meters, and futures under the LNG North-West Europe Marker are $426 per thousand cubic meters.
Wind turbines provided 21% of the region's electricity needs on average last week, and the figure was 20.8% on Monday, according to WindEurope.
EUROPEAN INVENTORIES
Current inventory levels in Europe's underground gas storage (UGS) facilities are 56.02%, which is 22 percentage points above the average for the same date over the past five years, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe.
Inventories rose 0.05 percentage points during the weekend gas day for March 26, with inventories increasing for the fifth consecutive day.
European LNG terminals operated at 63% capacity in February, and the figure has been 66% since the start of March because of French facilities shutting down in protest against pension reform in the country.
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.
Inventories decreased 2 billion cubic meters for the latest reporting week, which is markedly more (at 60%) than the usual figure for this time of the year.
The current level of inventories is around 39%, which is 23 percentage points higher than the average figure for the past five years, according to the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration. The current level of inventories is close to the highest figure for the past five years.
Freeport LNG, the United States' largest LNG plant, has announced reopening all three liquefaction lines, thereby reducing the excess gas on the U.S. market and boosting supplies of LNG to the global market.