Mid-Day Gas Summary: TTF Slumps With Woodside-Union Deal

TTF dropped sharply to levels seen prior the announcement of potential industrial action in Australia after Woodside and the unions agreed to an in-principle agreement averting strike action. TTF front month regained some ground later in the session amid the ongoing potential for disruptions from Chevron’s LNG facilities.

• TTF SEP 23 down -11.1% at 32.7€/MWh
• TTF WIN 23 down -7.5% at 48.7€/MWh
• TTF front month dropped to an intra-day low of €28.985/MWh at the opening, the lowest level since 7 August.
• Unions representing workers at Woodside Energy Group North West Shelf LNG operations are considering a “strong offer” from the company. All members will vote to ratify the deal at 7.30 pm Perth time. A union ballot of workers at Chevron’s Gorgon and Wheatstone downstream facilities resulted with working endorsing industrial action if needed.
• Norwegian pipeline gas flows to Europe fell to the lowest level since 14 July on Thursday as annual maintenance is ramping up. Piped gas flows from Norway to Europe fell to 269.7mcm/d on Thursday, down from last week’s average of 321.1mcm/d.
• Hydropower reserves in Switzerland rose quicker week on week by 2.4 percentage points last week to 78.8% of capacity as of 21 August but stock levels remained below the five-year and long-term averages.
• European gas storage is up to 91.62% full on a 22 Aug according to GIE data compared to the five year average for this time of year of 78.6%.
• German natural gas consumption last week stood 19.9% below the 2018-2021 average, Bnetza data showed.
• LNG sendout to Europe was at 306mcm/d on 22 Aug and still remains below levels seen this time last year.
• US LNG exports are currently more profitable to Asia in October, November and December as of 24 August. Flows were more profitable to Europe yesterday.
• JKM-TTF Sep 23 down -0.2$/mmbtu at 1.73$/mmbtu
• The latest EIA weekly gas inventories for the week ending 18 Aug will be released this afternoon at 15:30BST. The expectation is for a build of +31bcf according to a Bloomberg survey.