Spot TTF prices jumped some €40 per MWh over the course of last week, with the July 2022 contract now trading just a tad below the $40 per mmBtu mark, simultaneously pushing up LNG prices in Asia, OilPrice reports.

With fears of an impending market collapse easing somewhat at the start of this week, the market started talking about the umpteenth reopening of China again. This in turn continues to fuel expectations of robust summer demand, and whilst fears of an economic recession in late 2022 are still there, oil prices started to move marginally higher as ICE Brent trends around $120 per barrel. It might be that natural gas now becomes the main talking point in energy markets, with lower Russian supply in Europe while Northeast Asian countries see power demand soar amidst intense heatwaves. 

Germany faces recession if Russian gas halted. With Nord Stream 1 operating at 40% capacity, industry associations have warned that Germany would fall into recession should Russian gas supply be halted altogether as some 50 GWh of power generation would be left exposed.  German utility firm RWE signaled its readiness to extend the lifetime of its coal-fuelled power plants as Berlin reconsiders its sourcing options, sending the company’s stock 5% up on the week.

US oil major Chevron signed a preliminary agreement with Egypt’s EGAS to explore sending natural gas produced in Israel’s offshore fields to Egypt for processing and LNG exports. The Appalachia-focused natural gas producer THQ Appalachia is reportedly considered for a sale that could fetch as much as $5 billion, with the firm having a net production of 760 mcfd, mostly located in West Virginia.

/OilPrice/