The drop in wind generation and cooling temperatures are forcing Europe to use more gas from its underground gas storage (UGS) facilities.
Latvia and the Netherlands continue off-taking gas from UGS facilities along with Germany.
The warm autumnal weather in Europe is forecast to end in the middle of October, nighttime temperatures continue to drop lower, and this is usually when off-take from UGS facilities begins.
Wind turbines have generated 12% of the EU's electricity on average this week, specifically 9% on Wednesday, 11% on Tuesday, and 17.8% on Monday, after 18.6% last week, according to data from WindEurope.
Warm autumnal weather continues in Europe, where the spot price - the day-ahead contract at the TTF hub in the Netherlands - closed at $906 per thousand cubic meters, though this applies only to current supplies during the short period warm weather. The October futures contract is $1,557, and the February contract is $1,739. In Asia, the most expensive winter futures contract for February on the JKM Platts index is now $1,376.
European liquefied natural gas terminals operated at an average of 59% of capacity in September, as in August, rising to 70% this week after 63% in early October, data from Gas Infrastructure Europe indicate.
Europe continues to inject gas into underground gas storage facilities, with the average level of reserves reaching the targeted 80% at the end of August, since when the pace of injection has slowed. The European UGS facilities usually transition from net injection to net off-take around October 20.
Inventories in UGS facilities have risen to 91.64%, up 0.12 percentage points from October 12, the last reporting date, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe data. Off-take is rising along with injection at a ratio of 42%.
Gas inventories in UGS facilities currently exceed 80% in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Spain, but Hungary and Latvia still lag.
Gas stocks at the Incukalns UGS facility in Latvia are the lowest in the EU and are stuck at around 54%. This UGS facility is responsible for reserve gas supplies to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as Finland.
