Fear and tension have once again been protagonists this Thursday in the financial gas market. The MWh price in the Dutch TTF index has exceeded 40 euros MWh, a level that has not been seen since April 25, aggravating the tension between the operators who had considered liquidated, at least temporarily, the episode of energy crisis .
The focus of fear is located on this occasion in Europe itself and in its gas supply capacity, already cut by Russia. The first of the alarms comes from Norway. There the network operator, Gasso, has delayed the reopening of some of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing plants scheduled for this week until at least July.
As published by the Bloomberg agency, the delays would affect some of the largest plants in the country such as Nyhamna, and to this is added the stoppage of Kollsnes, whose maintenance will begin next week.
These stoppages occur in the middle of the storage filling process in the countries of central Europe. An LNG supply shortage could jeopardize reaching the fall with the gas needed to tackle the winter. Market sources commented this past week that the fill levels of the storages in Europe were around 70%, 95% in Spain, which, given its regasification capacity, does not depend on suppliers from the north of the continent.
These setbacks, temporary in principle, had already been heating up the tension for a week that escalated this morning when the Dutch government announced on Thursday that it will permanently close the Groningen gas field, the largest in Europe. Following the news, the TTF price has exceeded 40 euros MWh, standing 54% above what was set just a week ago.
The idea is not entirely a surprise. The Netherlands has spent months assessing the closure of this deposit, which is the source of continuous earthquakes in the region. Up to 1,600 of up to 3.6 Richter degrees have been documented since 1986, damaging more than 85,000 buildings, according to the conclusions of the study carried out by a commission of the Dutch Parliament.
They also pointed out that the reason for these movements was due, in part, to the gas vein exploitation model carried out by the companies Shell and ExxonMobil and Parliament itself called a “silent pact” more focused on the search for profit than on the needs of the population.
The Netherlands was already managing this field at a minimum, but had assured that it would be available in the event that European gas needs required it in a context in which the gas supply from Russia is neither there nor expected. With the definitive closure announced this Thursday, the scenario changes and Europe is left without room for maneuver in the face of a possible shortage of LNG supplies.
Despite the tension, a Goldman Sachs report issued today and quoted by Bloomberg trusts that the demand for gas in Europe will remain without tension.
