Wind-power generation in Europe at lowest level in nearly two years; Gazprom requests 41.8 mcm for transit via Ukraine
MOSCOW. June 21 (Interfax) - Gas prices in Europe have risen with the onset of summer weather and light winds, though the summertime heat has yet to reach seasonal highs on the continent.
UKRAINIAN TRANSIT
The Gas Transport System Operator of Ukraine, or GTSOU, has accepted a booking from Gazprom today to transport 41.8 million cubic meters of gas through the country, and the figure was 41.9 yesterday, 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 41.8 mcm on June 21, 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
Wind turbines provided an average of only 5.5% of the region's electricity needs on Tuesday, slightly above the figure of 4.8% on September 10, 2021, according to WindEurope.
The day-ahead contract for today at the Dutch TTF gas hub in the Netherlands closed at $430 per thousand cubic meters, with the spot price having risen 9% in one day, and it has increased 1.5-fold since the beginning of the month.
A split between LNG prices in Asia and those in Europe has noticeably returned. In Asia, the most expensive futures contract for June on the JKM Platts index is $342 per thousand cubic meters, and futures under the LNG North-West Europe Marker are $305 per thousand cubic meters.
EUROPEAN INVENTORIES
Europe continues the gas-injection season into underground gas storage (UGS) facilities. Current inventory levels in Europe's UGS facilities are 74.67%, which is 17 percentage points above the average for the same date over the past five years, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe.
Inventories increased 0.26 percentage points during the gas day for June 19, with the pace still markedly lagging the usual injection levels over the past five years. Nevertheless, reserves could reach the target level of 90% storage capacity by the end of September if injection continues at this pace throughout the summer.
Gazprom warns 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 an average capacity of 64% in May, and they have averaged 65% since the beginning of June.
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.
Freeport LNG, the United States' largest LNG plant, has reopened all three liquefaction lines, thereby reducing the excess gas on the U.S. market and boosting supplies of LNG to the global market.
The U.S. continues the season for injecting gas into UGS facilities. Inventories rose 2.4 billion cubic meters for the latest reporting week, which is the typical volume for this time of the year.
The current level of inventories is around 43%, which is 15 percentage points higher than the average figure for the past five years, according to the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration.