Gas price in Europe renews historical maximum, reach $1,300 per 1,000 cubic meters
The gas price in Europe during the October 5 trade broke the record again and reached $1,300 per 1,000 cubic meters, according to the data of the ICE exchange.
The price of November futures on the TTF hub in the Netherlands reached $1,300 per 1,000 cubic meters during trading, or 108.4 euros per MWh (based on the current exchange rate of the euro to the dollar, prices for ICE are presented in euros per MWh).
On Tuesday, Gazprom told reporters that they expect a "cold and snowy winter" for the 2021-2022 heating season.
The level of gas in European gas storage facilities as of September 2021 is at a all time low. The gap in occupancy compared to last year is estimated at 20.5 bln cubic meters of gas, according to Gazprom.
If the average daily September injection rates remain unchanged by October 12, 2021, the storage facilities will have about 76 bln cubic meters of gas, according to the company calculations, which means that 28%, or 18.6 bln cubic meters, will remain unreplenished from 66.2 billion cubic meters, taken from European UGS facilities during the last heating season.
Swiss-based Nord Stream 2 said it has appealed a court decision that confirmed the pipeline will not be exempt from European Union rules that require the owners of pipelines to be different from the suppliers of the gas that flows in them.
"We confirm that Nord Stream 2, in compliance with the deadlines, filed an appeal against the decision of the Supreme Regional Court of Dusseldorf of 25 August 2021 to the Federal Supreme Court of Germany," the pipeline’s operator company said.
The decision was made by the Duesseldorf Higher Regional Court in August, and a spokesperson for the consortium said it had filed an appeal with the German Federal Supreme Court in Karlsruhe. read more
EU rules require the companies that produce, transport and distribute gas within the bloc to be separate, or "unbundled". They aim to ensure fair competition in the market and to prevent companies from possibly obstructing competitors' access to infrastructure.
This means that the company transporting the gas must auction its capacity to third parties. The Nord Stream 2 operator claims the rules, amended in 2019, were aimed at torpedoing the pipeline.
