Norwegian gas supply slips 12% month/month in Sept
Norwegian gas supply fell 12.2% month/month in September, averaging 303mn m3/day, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) reported on October 20, as a result of heavy maintenance at fields.
Production was also 6.5% below the forecast, although it was up 0.6% year/year. A number of key assets underwent maintenance during the month, including the Troll, Oseberg and Kristin gas fields. Some of this work had been postponed from earlier in the year. Unplanned outages also affected other assets including the Sleipner, Skarv and Kvitebjorn fields.
Norway has pledged to expand gas deliveries to Europe as much as possible in order to replace lost Russian deliveries. Exports from Gazprom to Europe dropped to an all-time low of 2.3bn m3. However, ample LNG supply and warmer-than-usual weather has offset this, resulting in falling European gas prices over recent weeks.
The TTF November contract slumped to €112.5/MWh ($1,172/'000 m3) on October 19, marking its lowest point since mid-June. It was trading as of 07:00 GMT at €115.5/MWh.
Norwegian oil and other liquids production averaged 1.836mn barrels/day, coming in at 10.4% below the forecast, and down 8.5% month/month and down 9.8% year/year. Oil production too was affected by maintenance. Norway has also sacrificed some oil supply to boost gas exports, by selling gas that it would otherwise have pumped into underground reservoirs to boost oil recovery.