Russia

Russia’s second largest natural gas producer, PAO Novatek, has signed two long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply contracts from its Arctic LNG 2 project with two Chinese distributors.  A subsidiary of China’s largest independent gas distributor, ENN Natural Gas Co. Ltd., agreed to purchase 0.6 million metric tons/year (mmty) for 11 years from Novatek. Volumes…

Natural gas prices hovered in a narrow range of modest gains and losses early Monday before creeping upward and ultimately finishing comfortably in positive territory, as traders assessed a bearish tilt in the weather outlook against strong demand prospects for U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. The February Nymex gas futures contract settled at $3.815,…

PAO Novatek said this week that the 19.8 million metric tons/year (mmty) Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia’s Far North signed loan agreements with a consortium of international banks, securing all the facility’s external funding. The banks agreed to provide $10.8 billion for up to 15 years for the $21 billion project that is to…

European natural gas prices surged Tuesday after German regulators delayed certifying the Nord Stream 2 (NS2) pipeline, exacerbating fears that the continent won’t have enough of the fuel this winter.  “This provides additional pressure to uncertain gas supplies, coupled with the now stereotypical Russian move of not booking additional transit capacity through Ukraine at Monday’s…

Russia has factored heavily into the global dialogue surrounding this year’s energy shortages, particularly as it relates to the country’s role as the leading supplier of natural gas to Europe. Weather patterns, supply chain issues, production outages and the pandemic, among other things, have collided to create shortages of everything from coal and natural gas…

European natural gas prices jumped Monday after Russia booked little additional pipeline capacity to move more supplies to the continent next month. Gazprom PJSC booked no additional capacity for November through Ukraine during an auction Monday. The company took only about 35% of the available capacity via Belarus and Poland next month. The auction’s results…

European natural gas stockpiles could be completely drained over the next few months, leaving the continent wholly dependent on Russian pipeline imports if this winter turns out to be unseasonably cold in both Europe and Asia, according to an analysis from Wood Mackenzie. Colder winter weather across the globe could raise European heating demand to…

Fueled by a potential wintertime energy shortage overseas, U.S. natural gas forward prices rebounded sharply from the prior week’s bruising. November prices surged by an average 42.0 cents during the trading period from Sept. 23-29, while the winter strip (November-March) jumped 49.0 cents on average, according to NGI’s Forward Look. Gains at the front of…

Gazprom PJSC has completed the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and said last week that it would work toward starting commercial operations on the system by the end of the year to move more supplies to natural gas-starved Europe.  The company tied together the final section of the system’s second leg between the German shore and…