With anxiety mounting over another halt to the flow of Russian natural gas to Europe, Ukraine is continuing its push to fill the void for energy-starved countries as market volatility appears to be impacting their ability to import U.S. LNG.

Russian Gas to Europe

On Friday, Russia’s Gazprom PJSC disclosed its Nord Stream 1 (NS1) pipeline system would halt western flows to Europe for three days at the end of the month for maintenance. The anticipated closure stoked anxieties that NS1 could remain permanently closed after the scheduled period, according to trading firm Energi Danmark.

The news also spiked European markets at the start of the week with prompt Dutch Title Transfer Facility gas futures on Monday jumping nearly 15% from Friday to finish at $81.52/MMBtu. 

TTF began sinking again...