Europe boosts applications for gas supplies following weekend; Gazprom requests 40 mcm for transit via Ukraine
MOSCOW. April 11 (Interfax) - Europe increasing applications for Russian gas supplies following the end of the weekend.
UKRAINIAN TRANSIT
The Gas Transport System Operator of Ukraine, or GTSOU, has accepted a booking from Gazprom today to transport 40 million cubic meters of gas through the country, and the figure was 37.2 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 40 mcm on April 11, 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 $489 per thousand cubic meters, with the spot price correcting downward 5% for the day.
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 $451 per thousand cubic meters, and futures under the LNG North-West Europe Marker are $438 per thousand cubic meters.
Wind-power generation in Europe on Monday recovered from the dramatic setback of the previous week. Wind turbines on Monday provided 19.1% of the region's electricity needs after averaging 10% last week, according to WindEurope.
EUROPEAN INVENTORIES
Current inventory levels in Europe's underground gas storage (UGS) facilities are 55.55%, which is 21 percentage points above the average for the same date over the past five years, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe.
Inventories declined 0.15 percentage points during the gas day for April 10, with offtake significantly exceeding the usual figure for this time of year.
European LNG terminals operated at 58% capacity in March because of French facilities shutting down in protest against pension reform in the country, and operating capacity has been 60% thus far in April.
European LNG terminals operated at an average capacity of 58% in March owing to a strike at French terminals. For the first days of April, the load is 60%. The bulk of French terminals operated by Elengy are slowly returning to service.
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 0.7 billion cubic meters for the latest reporting week, whereas offtake of gas from storage facilities has usually already stopped at this time of year.
The current level of inventories is around 38%, which is 19 percentage points higher than the average figure for the past five years, according to the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration.
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.