European Gas Prices Rise as Major Supplier Undergoes Maintenance

It is noted that last year, Norway accounted for about one-third of the EU’s gas imports. Gas prices in Europe have risen, driven by a sharp decline in Norwegian supplies due to a new round of scheduled maintenance, according to unian.net. Bloomberg reports that benchmark gas futures rose by 1.2% as Norway’s Kollsnes processing plant began seasonal maintenance. Last year, the country accounted for about one-third of the European Union’s gas imports. Traders are focused on securing supply to refill storage facilities, while attention also remains on the situation surrounding U.S. tariffs and the still unsuccessful efforts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine. Nevertheless, weak demand in China is supporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments to Europe, easing some concerns about supply this summer. “LNG deliveries into European networks are increasing, helping to close a much wider storage gap compared to the previous year,” noted analyst Patricio Alvarez. He expects European gas prices to remain around €35 per megawatt-hour throughout this year. “Lower storage targets, weak domestic demand, and subdued LNG imports to China are easing supply pressure, even though near-term LNG production in the U.S. and gas output in Norway will slow due to maintenance,” Alvarez said. Dutch front-month futures rose by 1.1% to €36.16 per megawatt-hour.