In the morning trading in Amsterdam on Tuesday, the futures price for the first month at the Dutch node TTF, the reference price for gas for Europe, increased by almost 4%, while the first month gas contract in the United Kingdom had increased by 3.5 percent, according to Bloomberg data. Prices rose as orders to transport Russian gas through Ukraine on Tuesday fell to 68% of the capacity that Russian giant Gazprom can send. At the same time, deliveries via the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany were approaching capacity. The first rise in European gas prices in seven trading days comes as the European Union intensifies its efforts to supply non-Russian gas. Italy, for example, which’s dependent on Russia for 40 percent of its gas demand, signed an agreement Monday with Algeria to receive 40 percent more gas from its African gas exporter via an existing pipeline in the Mediterranean. Italy’s Eni will increase the amount of gas imported through the TransMed / Enrico Mattei pipeline under the long-term gas supply contract with Sonatrach from next autumn. Other agreements will follow, said Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, noting that the agreement with Algeria is a step towards reducing dependence on Russian gas. Europe is also seeking to boost liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, and various countries, including major Russian gas-dependent economies such as Italy and Germany, are in talks with exporters, including the United States and Qatar, to more LNG supply if possible. Just yesterday, French oversize TotalEnergies said it planned to increase production capacity at its Cameron LNG plant in Louisiana, USA, as the United States seeks to boost LNG shipments to Europe to help reduce its dependence on Russian gas. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More top readings from Oilprice.com:
