The Russians were on the gas pipeline, but LNG spread to Europe and Hungarian gas exports exploded

According to the MEKH summary, the volume of piped and liquefied natural gas sources arriving in Europe in January (393 TWh) was 38 TWh higher than the previous year and 23 TWh in the previous month. Compared to December, Russian imports fell sharply in the first month of 2022 as the Russian side reduced its exports to Europe. 6% through the North Stream, 71% through the Jamal Pipeline, 21% through the Turkish Stream and 54% through Ukraine.

The decline of Russian resources was fully offset by the increase in LNG exports. As a result of higher premiums paid in recent months, liquefied natural gas came to European markets in January two and a half times more than the previous year. Therefore, after the sharp fluctuations in December, gas prices in European markets normalized somewhat: spot prices fluctuated in the range of 74-99 € / MWh.

The growing Russian-Ukrainian conflict has made the gas market more sensitive. Traders did not expect Europe to be in better supply conditions next winter than this year, so the price of 2023 gas production rose by € 10 / MWh to € 54.5 / MWh.

In response to rising regional demand this month, Hungary’s gas exports have tripled compared to December. We exported to Serbia and Romania. In addition, a significant increase in Ukrainian exports was facilitated by the availability of unrestricted capacity goods across the border. Imports also increased. The HAG pipeline has been re-completed, with more Russian sources coming from Serbia and LNG sources coming from Croatia.

Domestic net natural gas production increased by 5.6% compared to the previous month, which was 1.1 TWh.

Domestic natural gas consumption in the first month of 2022 is 4% higher than in January 2021. The use of savings stocks was also slightly higher than in previous years. Storage facilities closed the month with 22.73 TWh reserves, indicating a 34% filling rate, up from January 2019 value.

In Hungary, as a result of the overhead reduction, the price of electricity and natural gas consumed by consumers using global service is determined by the law, which means that the Hungarian people are protected against rising prices in the markets.

Detailed information a In the MEKH statement Readable.

Cover Image Source: Getty Images