Russian gas flows to Eni drop for sixth consecutive day
Gazprom is still delivering less gas to Italy's Eni than requested, the latter said June 20, in a market disclosure through energy market platform GME's insider information service.
This is the sixth consecutive day there has been a shortfall. If reduced deliveries continue into this week, Rome is expected to impose a state of alert to implement demand-side gas measures, and greater sourcing of non-Russian gas supplies. Italy's emergency technical committee for gas will meet June 21 to take stock of the situation.
Eni did not say precisely how much gas it was now receiving, though on June 17 it secured only 50% of its requested 63mn m3/day offtake. GME's disclosure platform allows Italian energy market participants to publish operational updates. The platform has recorded a notice from Eni on reduced flows every day since June 15. Reuters says Eni received 65% of its requested volumes on July 16, and 85% of its demand July 15.
A Kremlin spokesperson insisted late last week that maintenance issues at Nord Stream were to blame, rather than any political motive. Italian prime minister Mario Draghi has dismissed this is as a "lie". Italy is one of four EU members, along with France, Germany and Romania, to have formerly supported Ukraine's bid for EU candidate status last week, breaching a red line for Russian foreign policy.
France and Germany have also experienced a sharp drop in gas flows, pushing market prices higher, as traders account for the EU's need to build up storage, ahead of the winter demand season. Contracts for October 2022 gas deliveries on the Dutch TTF market were up 6% day/day as of 12:10 GMT on June 20, at €126 ($133)/MWh, suggesting speculation around the EU's 80% gas storage threshold, which comes into force in November.
Officially, the reduced gas flows have been attributed to technical issues at the Nord Stream pipeline, specifically regarding the Portovaya compressor station and Siemens' failure, due to sanctions, to promptly return equipment sent off for repairs.