European natural gas prices rose on Thursday as Norway started annual maintenance on key gas facilities, tightening supply from the region’s top exporter.
Dutch TTF Natural Gas Futures—the benchmark for European gas—were up by 2% as of 12:15 p.m. local time in Amsterdam.
The increase comes as maintenance begins at Norway’s Kollsnes gas processing plant, a move that reduces pipeline gas flows to Europe. Norway became Europe’s largest gas supplier after Russian deliveries fell sharply following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Today, it provides about one-third of the EU’s gas imports.
The summer maintenance season is expected to lower Norwegian gas exports, prompting concerns that Europe will need to boost liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports to refill storage before winter. After a colder-than-normal winter in 2024/2025, Europe’s gas stocks fell below the five-year average, increasing pressure to rebuild reserves.
To provide flexibility, the European Union earlier this year extended the timeframe for countries to meet storage targets. Under the revised rules, countries can now miss the 90% full storage goal by up to 10% without facing penalties.
Another factor easing immediate pressure is low LNG demand in Asia, particularly from China. This has made more spot LNG cargoes available to Europe, helping stabilize supply for now.
Still, analysts warn the situation could shift. If Asian demand rebounds during peak summer electricity use, Europe may face tougher competition for LNG. That could drive up prices as the continent races to secure enough gas for winter.
Market watchers are closely monitoring storage refill rates in Europe and trends in Asian LNG demand to assess whether supply will remain stable or tighten further in the coming months.
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