Wind generation in Europe hits one-month high, Gazprom requests 40.6 mcm gas transit via Ukraine
MOSCOW. May 18 (Interfax) - Wind turbines generated the biggest share of Europe's electricity in 35 days on Wednesday, however the wind speed is forecast to drop, and with it renewable power generation, on Thursday.
UKRAINIAN TRANSIT
Gas Transport System Operator of Ukraine, or GTSOU, has accepted a booking from Gazprom today to transport 41.3 million cubic meters of gas through the country, as on Wednesday, 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.
"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 40.6 mcm on May 18, with booking via the Sokhranovka metering station declined," Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov told reporters.
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
Wind turbines generated 20.7% of Europe's electricity on Wednesday, the most for 35 days, and twice as much as they did on Sunday, according to WindEurope.
The spot price for gas in Europe fell 1%. The latest day-ahead contract at the Dutch TTF gas hub in the Netherlands closed at $352 per thousand cubic meters.
The spread between LNG prices in Asia and those in Europe is noticeable. In Asia, the most expensive futures contract for June on the JKM Platts index is $394 per thousand cubic meters, and futures under the LNG North-West Europe Marker are $369 per thousand cubic meters.
EUROPEAN INVENTORIES
Current inventory levels in Europe's underground gas storage facilities are 64.31%, which is 19 percentage points above the average for the same date over the past five years, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe.
Inventories rose 0.24 percentage points during the May 16 gas day. Injection rates have been noticeably less than the five-year average, but it will be possible to achieve the target level of 90% by the end of September if these rates are sustained throughout the summer.
Gazprom has nevertheless cautioned that "replenishing gas reserves in storage facilities could be a non-trivial task for European companies. This will be very difficult to do, given the politically motivated decisions aimed at refusing to import Russian pipeline gas. Competition for LNG will have a big effect on the volumes of gas available on the European market."
European LNG terminals operated at 67% capacity in April and 63% since the start of May. Routine shutdowns for maintenance at terminals has begun with the advent of the spring-summer season, and the European market is becoming less appealing due to falling prices.
U.S. INVENTORIES
The state of gas in UGS facilities in the United States is of increasing importance for the global market, as the country is actively increasing gas exports.
Freeport LNG, the largest U.S. LNG plant, has restarted at three liquefaction trains, thereby reducing the gas surplus on the U.S. market and boosting LNG supply to the global market.
The U.S. gas injection season continues. Inventories decreased 2.2 billion cubic meters for the latest reporting week, 10% less than usual.
The current level of inventories is 45%, which is 18 percentage points above the five-year average, according to the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration.