Prices rise following reports of a strike at Sudzha Gas Metering Station
The Dutch and British wholesale prices for gas rose on Friday after reports of a striking at the Sudzha gas station, which was the point where Russian gas used to enter Europe via Ukraine.
LSEG data revealed that the Dutch contract for Winter 2025 was up 1,93 euros at 43.35 Euros/MWh at 0830 GMT. The Dutch contract for front-month was also 1.70 euros higher at 44.55 Euros/MWh.
The April contract in Britain rose by 3.97 pounds, to 108.32 cents per therm.
Ukraine's army, citing media, reported an early Friday strike on the Sudzha Gas Pumping and Measuring Station in western Russia's Kursk Region. This was the point where gas was transported into Europe via Ukraine until the route was shut down at the end last year because of the expiration date of the transit agreement.
The incident was not reported by the government in Kyiv. The incident was not reported by the authorities in Moscow either.
LSEG Gas Analyst Yuriy Onieshkiv said that if these reports are confirmed it could diminish hopes in Europe about the return to Russian pipeline flows through Ukraine if ceasefire talks succeed.
Recent talks aimed at reaching a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine have raised the hope that some Russian gas pipeline supply may return to the market.
The Kremlin announced this week that Russian president Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump had agreed to observe a ceasefire for 30 days on energy targets. However, both sides have accused one another of violating the ceasefire.
Analysts at ING said that, "while there has been a lot of talk about a possible restart of Russian gas pipelines to Europe as part a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine," there are still a few hurdles to overcome before this becomes a reality.
They added that "in our base case", they do not expect a return of Russian pipelines to Europe. Achieving a peace agreement remains a challenge, and EU member countries are reluctant to increase reliance on Russian oil.
LSEG data shows that average temperatures in North-West Europe will decline next week, after reaching a peak today. Wind generation is also expected to decrease next week.
The benchmark contract on the European carbon markets was 0.54 euros higher, at 73.55 euro per metric ton.
The government announced on Thursday that Britain is actively examining the case for linking the Emissions Trading System to the EU's Carbon Market ahead of the UK-EU Summit scheduled for May. Nina Chestney is reporting.
(source: Reuters)
