Prices edge higher amid Norwegian pipeline maintenance
Gas prices edged higher at the NBP on Thursday as market participants eyed upcoming maintenance on key Norwegian infrastructure.
Contracts across the curve showed limited movement, with many settling within a 0.5p/therm (0.02p/kWh) range of their previous closing prices.
The planned Norwegian maintenance, which is set to begin next week, remained a key supply concern as a planned outage at Norway’s Hammerfest LNG plant due to start this summer was extended. According to Gassco data, the maintenance will take over 80 mcm/d offline from April 2nd, with even more reductions planned for May.
According to data from National Grid, wind output saw a substantial increase on Thursday’s gas day, rising by 67% compared to the previous day. This likely reduced reliance on combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) offtake, which fell by 46% when compared to the same period.
As a result, the British system was oversupplied by 7.1 mcm/d at 15:00 London time. This morning gas prices have opened relatively in line with their previous settlements.
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Price commentary courtesy of Crown Gas and Power 