Page 100 - RusRPTNov22

9.1.1c Gas sector news
Dutch TTF gas futures amounted to €127.98 per megawatt hour on October 17, 2022 for contracts with delivery in November 2022. Dutch TTF is seen as a Europe-wide natural gas price benchmark. Gas prices rose significantly across Europe in the latter half of 2021 as the continent experienced a supply shortage. In the week between February 28 and March 7, gas prices spiked to €227.2 euros per megawatt hour following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war.
European imports of Russian LNG have hit their highest levels on record
despite the EU’s efforts to ease its reliance on the country’s gas, with sellers taking advantage of higher profit margins, Montel reports. Europe’s imports of Russian LNG increased 21% year on year in the first nine months of 2022 to 15.5bcm, with October deliveries forecast to rise 10% on the year to 1.4bcm, according to Montel calculations based on Kpler ship tracking data. The EU has not yet added Russian gas to its list of sanctions to punish Moscow over its war in Ukraine. However, pipeline supplies have dwindled to less than 10% of 2021’s average import volume, amid alleged maintenance issues. So far this year, more than a third of Russia’s LNG shipments to Europe have been earmarked for France, followed by Spain with nearly a quarter, while the Netherlands and Belgium have also received significant volumes.
Europe receives most of its Russian LNG from Novatek – which owns the 22.5bcm/year Yamal LNG terminal in northwest Siberia – and more recently from Gazprom, via the new 2bcm/year Portovaya terminal in the eastern Baltic region. The rise in Russian LNG shipments to Europe also likely reflected the resale of cargoes sold under long-term contracts to China, as coronavirus-related lockdowns and a slowing economy continued to dent
100 RUSSIA Country Report November 2022 www.intellinews.com