EUROPE suddenly has too much gas, a surprise turn in Europe's energy crisis, reports Bloomberg.
Europe has rushed to import liquefied natural gas from around the world to fill up storage because of the Russia-Ukraine war.
A combination of warm weather and successful bidding for cargo means facilities are almost full before Europeans have even turned the thermostats up.
Gas prices have fallen back and are less than a third of their summer peak.
However, risks still lie ahead, most of which depend on the weather, with cold weather causing Europe to dip into its stockpiles.
Gas supplies from Russia have been shrinking since last year. Flows on the critical Nord Stream pipeline were halted this summer before several blasts damaged the link last month.
'The European gas glut is expected to last until at least December,' said Illumia lead analyst Giacomo Masato.
'It is unlikely Europe will see a prolonged cold spell in November.'
Gas is near the lowest since June, but the dangers remain in market pricing.
February futures are trading at a 44 per cent premium to November.
All that means is that reducing usage remains essential despite the lure of lower prices.
Said Timera analysts: 'Europe's ability to navigate a parallel power and gas crisis across the next two years depends strongly on its ability to reduce demand.'
'We think the crisis is far from over.'
Europe's efforts to build up stockpiles means European storage is 93.6 per cent full, and Germany is at 97.5 per cent.
However, the weather appears to stay milder-than-usual well into November.
Meanwhile, European energy ministers are also discussing a temporary cap on benchmark gas prices.
Said Oxford Institute for Energy Studies senior research fellow Katja Yafimava: 'As temperatures start to drop and storages get emptied, the market reality of supply-demand mismatch will mean higher prices, translating into further inflationary pressures.'
'This problem is likely to become more acute during the next winter,' she said.
SeaNews Turkey
Europe has rushed to import liquefied natural gas from around the world to fill up storage because of the Russia-Ukraine war.
A combination of warm weather and successful bidding for cargo means facilities are almost full before Europeans have even turned the thermostats up.
Gas prices have fallen back and are less than a third of their summer peak.
However, risks still lie ahead, most of which depend on the weather, with cold weather causing Europe to dip into its stockpiles.
Gas supplies from Russia have been shrinking since last year. Flows on the critical Nord Stream pipeline were halted this summer before several blasts damaged the link last month.
'The European gas glut is expected to last until at least December,' said Illumia lead analyst Giacomo Masato.
'It is unlikely Europe will see a prolonged cold spell in November.'
Gas is near the lowest since June, but the dangers remain in market pricing.
February futures are trading at a 44 per cent premium to November.
All that means is that reducing usage remains essential despite the lure of lower prices.
Said Timera analysts: 'Europe's ability to navigate a parallel power and gas crisis across the next two years depends strongly on its ability to reduce demand.'
'We think the crisis is far from over.'
Europe's efforts to build up stockpiles means European storage is 93.6 per cent full, and Germany is at 97.5 per cent.
However, the weather appears to stay milder-than-usual well into November.
Meanwhile, European energy ministers are also discussing a temporary cap on benchmark gas prices.
Said Oxford Institute for Energy Studies senior research fellow Katja Yafimava: 'As temperatures start to drop and storages get emptied, the market reality of supply-demand mismatch will mean higher prices, translating into further inflationary pressures.'
'This problem is likely to become more acute during the next winter,' she said.
SeaNews Turkey
