End of Day Gas Summary: TTF steady

TTF held steady on the day as potential industrial action at Chevron’s LNG facilities in Australia is weighed against lower industrial demand, high inventories, and higher LNG arrivals.

• TTF SEP 23 up 0.01% at 35.20€/MWh
• TTF WIN 23 up 2.1% at 50.7€/MWh
• Chevron's two LNG production facilities in Australia - Gorgon and Wheatstone – that account for more than 5% of global LNG capacity are set to begin industrial action next week over pay and conditions disputes. ICIS has updated its Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG forecast to capture 1 week of strike action. The initial ICIS analyst estimate is that during this time there is a 20% cut in output or 1.5 cargoes. Strike action at Chevron’s Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG plants in Australia is unlikely to cause full shutdowns, according to ICIS.
• Norwegian nominated flows to the UK and Northwest Europe terminals at 181.80 mcm/d vs 5-day moving avg 188.58 mcm/d as maintenance at Troll and Kollsnes fields ramps up. Flows stood at just above 300mcm/d early last week.
• Swiss hydropower reserves rose at the quickest pace in three weeks at 3.1 percentage points last week to 81.9% of capacity as of 28 August, driven by higher precipitation, BFE data show.
• European gas storage was 93% full on Aug. 28 vs the 5-yr seasonal norm of 80% for this time of year according to GIE data.
• Norwegian hydropower reserves rose by 0.5 percentage points last week to 79.2% of capacity as of 29 August, narrowing the surplus to the five-year average to 5 percentage points, NVE data showed.
• LNG flows to Northwest Europe on Aug. 28 were 188.04 mcm/d, 22% higher than the 30-day average.
• The EU is set to import record volumes of Russian LNG in 2023, despite attempts to reduce its dependence on Russian energy, according to the Financial Times.
• US LNG exports are now more profitable to Europe in October and November, surpassing Asia as the premium basin for the front months, according to BNEF.
• Qatar has so far locked in only 11.8m mtpa of its 48m mtpa expansion in long-term contracts, according to Platts.
• LNG stockpiles among Japanese power generators rose 10.4% to 2.01m mt in the week to Aug. 27, according to data released by the trade ministry.
• MNI COMMODITY WEEKLY: Global Crude Stockpiles Drawing but Saudi Expected to Stay the Course – https://enews.marketnews.com/ct/x/pjJscQGNxekI6ahvIR0iHQ~k1zZ8KXr-kA8x6nGX8ShptIPjO1OcQ