The price of European natural gas contracts plummeted more than 10% this Thursday to the level of 32 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh), after the preliminary agreement reached between the Australian company Woodside Energy and the workers’ unions in an important liquefied gas (LNG) project in Australia.
This avoids uncertainty about possible interruptions in the supply of the world’s largest net exporter of said fuel in LNG format and one of the largest producers behind the US and Russia.
On the other hand, the other Australian strike threat could go the same way. A worker vote is scheduled for Chevron’s downstream facilities in Gorgon and Wheatstone, and the vote is expected to conclude next Monday, August 28, according to Reuters. .
Operators further assess that Europe’s fuel stocks are currently more than 90% full, the highest level on record for this time of year, and are close to the EU’s goal of reaching current storage levels by November 1.
Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands are among those that beat the target, while France’s inventories lag behind, at 86.8%. The French country is being plagued by uncertainty about the supply of uranium for its nuclear power plants after the coup in Niger.
The price of natural gas has become a leading indicator of electricity generation prices due to Europe’s high dependence on this fuel to provide market stability.
Electricity in Spain has skyrocketed this week to levels not seen since March above 130 euros/MWh, largely due to the increase in gas prices to meet the peaks in electricity demand due to the current heat wave.
