While the United States claims Russia will have too much control of gas supplies to Europe if the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is built, Europe is facing a big spike in gas prices because reserves have been driven down partly as a result of lowered LNG deliveries, according to a report in Sputnik. Remember, America made LNG the big issue for diversifying Europe’s gas supply away from Russia.
Gas prices reached $295 per thousand cubic meters on the Dutch spot market TTF on May 2, crossing the landmark of $286 – a level previously seen in January 2021 amid a notably cold winter in Europe. There has been a steady decrease in LNG deliveries, and they suffered another 8% decrease last week. This is all driving down gas reserves, where storage facilities are currently at around 30% of their capacity, much lower than the 41% average seen in the last five years. Stockpiles in April were diminished for the first time instead of being expanded.
