Prices increase a demand stays high and wind generation drops away
NBP gas prices edged higher on Tuesday as wind output dropped and demand stayed high.
Small incremental gains of circa 1.2p/therm (0.04pkWh) were posted across key contracts, with the market seemingly encountering downside resistance and reversing some of the losses accrued over the past few sessions.
An uptick in British gas demand likely served as a primary source of the increases.
According to data from National Gas, system demand rose to 333.6mcm, an increase of 49.1mcm when compared to the previous gas day and well above the historical seasonal norm of 274.5mcm.
A lull in wind power likely contributed to a sudden increase in demand, with wind turbine generation falling by 31.3% when compared to the previous gas-day. This in turn bolstered gas-fired (CCGT) demand, which rose from 12.2GW on Monday to 21GW yesterday (data from National Grid).
Over in Norway, the largest pipeline exporter to the UK and EU, unplanned maintenance at the Asgard field and Kollsnes processing facility combined to remove 18.3mcm of daily capacity. Data from offshore operator Gassco attributes both outages to compressor failures that are not expected to be resolved until 16th, 17th December, respectively.
In similar fashion to yesterday morning, natural gas prices are holding very much in line with the previous close at time of writing.
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Price commentary courtesy of Crown Gas and Power 