A roundup of news and commentary from NGI’s LNG Insight 

  • Russian natural gas moving through Ukraine toward Europe was stable Friday. Flows were largely unchanged from Thursday, when Ukraine’s natural gas transmission system operator warned that European supplies were threatened by Russian military forces that had entered two of its compressor stations.
  • Japan-Korea Marker prices also continued falling Friday, adding further incentives to move flexible LNG cargoes to Europe, where intake of the super-chilled fuel has surged since the beginning of the year. Russia also excluded energy from an export ban on more than 200 of its products. 
  • European natural gas prices increased Friday despite the fundamentals as uncertainty over the conflict in Ukraine continues to drive the market. “Flows through Ukraine continue to be stable but risk of disruptions due to damage is now elevated,” said Rystad Energy analyst Kaushal Ramesh. 
  • The prompt Title Transfer Facility contract finished near $42/MMBtu Friday, well below a record set on Monday of $72.765. The high prices are causing demand destruction on the continent as fertilizer, paper and steel output has been cut by some manufacturers due to high energy costs.