With the summer injection season under way, Europe's gas storage levels are near the top of the 5-year average, and gas injection continues. The US remains Europe's leading LNG exporter, while Russia, the third-largest supplier, continues to deliver strong volumes.
Russian gas flows to Europe have been steady, according to Rystad Energy, with recent flows of 77 million cu m/d (MMcmd) through Ukrainian transit and the Turk Stream infrastructure. February 2023 was a record month for Russian LNG shipments to Europe—1.61 million tonnes, equivalent to 17% of the total LNG volume.
Currently, EU sanctions do not prohibit Russia from exporting LNG to Europe, but individual buyers may actively avoid purchases, such as Germany's new floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), which would avoid Russian LNG deliveries.
Meantime, supply from Norwegian flows has held steady. Output from the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) totaled 386.39 MMcmd on Apr. 25, despite multiple ongoing outages at Troll, Kollsnes, Karsto, and Ormen Lange. The Norwegian private industry workers’ strike came to an end Apr. 20.
EU’s storage infrastructure is currently about 58% full, according to the latest confirmed data from AGSI (Aggregated Gas Storage Inventory) on Apr. 24. On a country level, UK storage is 57.3% full, France is at 33%, and Germany sits at 65.7%.
Gas prices are holding steady at $12.92/MMbtu on the Netherlands-based Title Transfer Facility (TTF) on Apr. 25, a weekly decrease of 6%.
