Russia's Gazprom Says Europe Gas Prices Could Set New Records
Already high natural gas prices in Europe could scale new heights due to low gas storage levels, Alexei Miller, boss of Russian supplier Gazprom, said on Friday.
Miller also told an online conference that demand is rising for natural gas, which he described as a "clean fuel" that could help the transition to greener energy.
He said Europe's gas in storage is currently 22.9 billion cubic meters (bcm) below normal levels.
"This is very big... All the experts are saying that Europe won't be able to catch up with the lag in pumping (into storage).
"Europe will enter the autumn/winter period with shortages in underground storage," he said.
"Of course, the situation is having an impact on prices and we see that the prices in Europe have beaten all the possible records. It's even possible that they will beat the records which they had already achieved."
Day-ahead gas prices at the Dutch TTF hub, a European benchmark, have more than tripled this year to record levels and boosted power prices.
NORD STREAM 2
Miller reiterated that Gazprom was sticking to its supply obligations in full and that the company was ready to pump more gas if needed.
Gazprom is set to double its gas export capacity to Europe via the Baltic Sea after announcing the completion last week of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Germany.
However it still needs operating approval from Germany, a process expected to take up to four months.
"Nord Stream 2 remains a point of uncertainty but also, in isolation, is unlikely to make enough of a difference to gas balances," Barclays analysts wrote on Friday.
Gazprom's CEO Miller also said that Asian markets are more attractive for gas supplies despite record-high prices in Europe.
郝芬 译自 管道&天然气杂志网
据管道&天然气杂志网9月17日报道,俄罗斯天然气供应商俄罗斯天然气工业股份公司(Gazprom)总裁阿列克谢•米勒(Alexei Miller)上周五表示,由于天然气储存水平较低,欧洲本已高企的天然气价格可能会再创新高。
米勒还在一次在线会议上表示,对天然气的需求正在上升,他称天然气是一种“清洁燃料”,有助于向绿色能源过渡。
他称,目前欧洲的天然气储量比正常水平低229亿立方米。这是非常大的......所有专家都说欧洲将无法赶上生产（进入存储）的滞后。欧洲将进入地下储存短缺的秋冬期。当然,这种情况正在对价格产生影响,我们看到欧洲的价格已经打破了所有可能的纪录。甚至有可能打破他们已经创下的纪录。
作为欧洲基准的荷兰TTF中心（Dutch TTF hub）的日前天然气价格今年上涨了两倍多,达到创纪录水平,并推高了电价。
北溪2号
米勒重申,俄罗斯天然气工业股份公司将完全遵守其供应义务,并准备在需要时提供更多天然气。
在上周宣布通向德国的北溪2号管道竣工后,俄罗斯天然气工业股份公司将通过波罗的海向欧洲出口天然气量提高一倍。
不过,该公司仍需获得德国的运营批准,这一过程预计需要长达四个月的时间。
巴克莱(Barclays)分析师上周五写道,北溪2号项目仍存在不确定性,而且单独来看,也不太可能对天然气平衡产生足够大的影响。
俄罗斯天然气工业股份公司首席执行官米勒还表示,尽管欧洲的天然气价格创历史新高,但亚洲市场对天然气供应更具吸引力。
