Nord Stream

Despite news that Russia’s Gazprom PJSC could be receiving a vital turbine engine for its Nord Stream 1 (NS1) pipeline system, European natural gas markets creeped upward again on anxiety over prolonged transmission outages and extreme summer heat. Gazprom blamed sanctions delaying the equipment’s return from a Canadian maintenance facility affiliated with Siemens AG for…

Persistent production weakness, blistering domestic heat and robust demand for U.S. LNG converged on Wednesday to ignite a fresh natural futures rally. The August Nymex contract climbed 52.6 cents day/day to close at $6.689/MMBtu. September rose 56.8 cents to $6.589. At A Glance: Cooling demand holds strong across the U.S. European supplies remain under pressure…

European natural gas prices seesawed again Tuesday, jumping on news that leaks at a Norwegian gas field would cut more than 2 Bcf/d of supplies for the continent until they’re fixed. The issues are expected to be resolved quickly, but European gas markets are on edge after Russia’s Nord Stream 1 pipeline was taken offline…

European demand for natural gas prevailed in a weekend decision to let pipeline machinery bypass Canadian trade sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine. Canada’s Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson described the move as “supporting Europe’s ability to access reliable and affordable energy as they transition away from Russian oil and gas.” The decision allows a…

Another crisis for Europe’s gas market was avoided late Monday after the Norwegian government intervened to stop a strike that could have significantly cut production from some of the country’s most critical gas fields. Norway’s Labor Ministry announced late Tuesday that the government took emergency action to intervene in the flagging negotiations between the Lederne…

European natural gas prices hit their highest point in months on Tuesday, extending a series of gains as the continent continues to face the threat of supply shortages on a number of fronts. A prolonged shutdown of the Freeport liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in the United States, reduced flows from Russia on the…

After slightly cooling on an apparent price correction, European energy markets started the week with another leap upward as the European Union (EU) formalized its winter natural gas storage plan. The EU countries officially ratified a plan Monday to reach 80% of natural gas storage capacity available among the 27-country bloc by the winter heating…

Europe’s largest gas buyers continued to see cuts in Russian deliveries Friday. Germany’s Uniper SE had received roughly 40% of its nominations, while Eni SpA had received about 50% of its orders. Slovakia also reported that its flows had been cut in half. Austria and the Czech Republic have seen flows reduced, while volumes from Russia arriving in France via Germany have been cut entirely. France receives less than 20% of its gas via Germany. 

Gazprom PJSC said Tuesday that it can only ship 100 million cubic meters/day (MMcm) on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, or 40% less than the system’s capacity.