LNG supplies to EU reach maximum levels

The injection of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from terminals into the European gas transmission system has increased to record levels.

The capacities of LNG regasification and injection into pipelines in Europe reach 54 per cent of the maximum level, according to TASS.

The gas injection into underground storage facilities has fallen to a minimum level since 2020, while the total accumulated gas reserves in the EU are at a historical maximum level of 93 per cent.

The situation with strikes at LNG plants in Australia has been partially improved, as Woodside Energy agreed with the workers' union to cancel the strike. At the same time, Chevron employees are still planning to go on strike on September 7.

The average cost of gas in Europe in August reached $396 per 1,000 cubic metres while it dropped to $386 in early September.

Some 38 million cubic metres were extracted from underground storage facilities in Europe while 253 million cubic metres were injected on September 3. The underground storage facilities are filled by 93.28 per cent, which is 11.6 percentage points more than over the past five years, TASS reports citing Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE).

Russia’s Gazprom company pumped 42.4 million cubic metres of gas through Ukraine on September 5. The pumping volume has recently reached 41.7 million cubic metres.

Gas prices in Europe began to rise in late August due to expected strikes at two large LNG plants in Australia. The scale of the strikes is still unknown. Employees can either completely stop gas production and LNG shipment, or just refuse to work overtime.