Gazprom on September 20 booked less than half of the natural gas transit capacity put up for auction on the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline in October. As for the Ukrainian route, the company again, like in September, refused to order additional capacities.
According to the GSA and RBP auctions, Gazprom chose only 30.75 million cubic meters per day for Yamal-Europe out of the proposed 87.2 million cubic meters per day. This roughly corresponds to the levels of mid-August, while in recent days pumping through Yamal-Europe was approaching 80 million cubic meters per day. However, Gazprom still has the opportunity to purchase additional capacity already in October at daily auctions.
As for Ukraine, Gazprom was asked to book 9.8 million cubic meters per day at the entry point on the Russian-Ukrainian border of Sudzha and another 5.2 million cubic meters of gas per day at the point of Sokhranovka. At the same time, in 2021 Gazprom has booked about 109 million cubic meters per day for long-term booking (40 billion cubic meters per year).
As a result of the refusal to book Ukrainian capacities, the price of October futures on TTF on the ICE Futures exchange reached 74.96 euros per MWh, or about $ 950 per thousand cubic meters, during the day, but then the price level stabilized at a level slightly above $ 900.
Market participants fear an energy crisis in Europe in the event of a cold winter due to insufficient gas supplies. According to AGSI +, the filling level of European gas storage facilities reaches only 71.74% as of September 20, and withdrawal from them may begin as early as mid-October.
