NW Europe LNG Sendout 206mcm/d Before French Terminal Return

Industrial action at French LNG terminals has caused vessel delays and diversions. France’s four LNG import terminals have been offline since 6 March and strikes were scheduled to last until Monday 21 Mar although the strike at Dunkerque ended this morning.

• Five cargoes due into France have already diverted to Spain, UK and Germany with others now heading to Portugal and Belgium according to Bloomberg ship tracking.
• A total of 47 cargoes have already arrived into NW European terminals this month with another 30 expected before the end of the month. This compares to 68 cargoes in Feb, 79 in January and 90 in December.
• LNG sendout from NW European terminals has average 203mcm/d since 6 March and was yesterday at 206mcm/d. The flows are significantly down from a peak of 356 on 28 Feb. Tight market pressures in Europe eased due to high renewables output this week, warm weather next week and high gas storage levels and despite recent lower nuclear output.
  • TTF APR 23 down -2.2% at 43.35€/MWh
  • TTF SUM 23 down -1.7% at 44.46€/MWh
  • TTF WIN 23 down -1.8% at 51.4€/MWh