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Norway’s pipeline gas exports to landed markets in Northwest Europe remained robust in July, with only limited maintenance work taking place during the month, an analysis of S&P Global Commodity Insights data showed Aug. 5.
Deliveries amounted to 10.02 Bcm in July, up by 9% month on month and by 12% year on year, with supplies staying at the top of the five-year range for the second consecutive month.
Flows during the month were impacted mainly by unplanned maintenance work at the Visund field that began in early June and continued through July.
The overall strong supplies in July helped keep EU storage sites well filled. Stocks were built to 85.7% of capacity as of Aug. 3, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe.
Looking ahead, the heaviest planned NCS maintenance period this year runs from the end of August until the end of September, with up to almost half of Norway’s production capacity set to be offline at times during the low-demand period.
There remains some concern in the market that some of the planned work taking place during September could overrun.
It comes as European gas prices remain relatively high, with Platts — part of Commodity Insights — assessing the Dutch TTF month-ahead price on Aug. 2 at Eur36.78/MWh.
Equinor CFO Torgrim Reitan said last month after the company released its Q2 earnings that the market was still “fragile”.
Reitan said Asian gas demand trends and the fate of Russian gas flows to Europe via Ukraine were key factors to monitor for market supply-demand balances over the remainder of 2024.
“Going forward, prices will depend on the weather, European demand and competition for LNG,” Reitan said.
“As expected, storage levels in Europe are healthy, but the market remains fragile. Small changes can give large fluctuations.”
Nybro record
Norwegian piped gas flows have traditionally landed at terminals in the UK, Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands.
However, since November 2022, gas has also been entering the Danish grid at Nybro as part of the 10 Bcm/year Baltic Pipe project to Poland.
A total of 884 million cu m flowed into Nybro in July, according to Commodity Insights data, the highest monthly flow level to date.
Flows through the Baltic Pipe take Norwegian gas exports away from other landed terminals, with notable diversions away from the Netherlands and France.
As well as pipeline exports, Norway also produces gas as feedstock for the Hammerfest LNG export facility and for some domestic use.
According to the Norwegian Offshore Directorate, 2022 is currently being seen as the peak year for gas output in Norway.
In its annual outlook published in January, the NOD — previously called the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate — said production in 2023 totaled 116 Bcm, down from the country’s record high of 122.5 Bcm in 2022.
It said it expected production in 2024 of some 119.9 Bcm.
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The post Norwegian piped gas exports to NW Europe stay strong in July appeared first on Energy News Beat.
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