Gas for the European market surges after reports of an attempted attack on TurkStream

The wholesale price of gas for the European market is rising sharply today, climbing well above 47 euros (1184 Kč) per megawatt-hour (MWh) this morning. This follows reports of attempts to attack Russian gas pipelines and the earlier announcement of new US sanctions against Russia’s energy sector, Reuters reported.

Shortly after noon, the price of gas for delivery in February was up 5.4 percent to more than 47.42 euros per MWh at the Title Transfer Facility (TTF) virtual trading hub in the Netherlands. TTF prices are a benchmark for the European market. At the beginning of January, the price approached 50 euros, its highest level in more than a year.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Ukraine today attempted a drone attack on a compressor station on the TurkStream pipeline in Russia’s Krasnodar region, in the south of the country, in an effort to disrupt Russian gas supplies to Europe. The drones were shot down and the station is operating normally, the Russians said. TurkStream carries Russian gas to Turkey and onward to southern Europe.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 triggered an energy crisis in Europe, causing gas prices across the continent to surge and also driving up global prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG).

With Russian gas flows through Ukraine halted at the start of this year, Europe has to replace supplies equivalent to roughly five percent of its gas, and will now have to rely more heavily on storage facilities, which are already below average for this time of year. Kyiv refused to extend its transit contract with Russian company Gazprom, preventing Russian gas from being transported through its territory from January.

EU gas storage facilities were around 66 percent full on average as of Sunday morning, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). In the Czech Republic, storage facilities were around 61 percent full.