UK-to-Europe gas flow halted due to equipment failure
Gas exports from the UK to Belgium via the key Interconnector gas pipeline were halted late on March 6 because of equipment failure, the operator said in a statement on March 7.
The outage is expected to last until March 8. The pipeline is a major supplier of gas to the European mainland, with a flow capacity of 20bn m3/year in the Belgian direction.
Despite the closure, European gas prices continued their downward descent on March 6. As of 09:22 GMT, the TTF front-month contract was down 4.5% at €42.8/MWh ($485/'000 m3). The continent is enjoying unusually warm weather, ample LNG supply and high levels of gas in stock, helping it to withstand the impact of a drastic cut in Russian gas supply over the last year.
The Interconnector pipeline is majority-owned by Belgian transmission system operator Fluxys.