Bloomberg: The increase in gas prices in the winter is still lurking in the European Union

According to Fars International Economic Group, Bloomberg quoted energy industry analysts as saying that it is expected that the price of natural gas in the European Union will increase on the eve of winter, putting the region at risk of an energy crisis once again.

According to this report and quoted by Goldman Sachs Bank analyst Samantha Dart, the price of gas will exceed 100 euros ($110) per megawatt hour or will reach more than a thousand dollars per thousand cubic meters of gas. Gas prices are currently €40 ($44) per MWh.

During an interview on the sidelines of the Flame gas conference in Amsterdam, the hub of regional gas trade, he said: “The early cold of winter is the scariest thing.”

Dart added: The price above 100 euros is very realistic.

The weak demand is expected to delay the growth that Goldman Sachs had previously forecast for August, the expert stressed.

The cost of EU gas futures reached a record high of 345 euros ($380) per megawatt hour last August. However, a mild winter, efforts to cut consumption, weak demand from China for LNG have pushed prices down to current levels, but experts are skeptical that the factors will remain.

Complacency among consumers, including industry, power plants and households, poses little risk to market supply in late 2023, they warn.

Until new liquefied natural gas (LNG) reserves hit the market after 2026, the market will remain undersupplied, analysts at Vitol Oil Group predict.

Stuart Sanders, head of Vitol’s LNG business, said: “The market will be much more vulnerable to risks.”

Russia’s energy supply decreased sharply last year due to Western sanctions. The delivery of Russian gas was also affected by the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline, one of the main routes for the transmission of Russian gas to Europe.

European gas prices rose above their peak price of 345 euros ($380) per megawatt hour in the summer.

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