Unplanned Norwegian outages send European gas prices soaring

European gas prices soared as unexpected outages in Norway disrupted supply. Benchmark Dutch futures spiked by 7.7% on Monday, the most in a month, due to the unplanned closure of Norway’s Nyhamna gas processing plant. This also halted flows into the UK’s Easington terminal, which handles a third of Britain’s gas supply.

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The outages highlight Europe’s dependence on Norway, especially after Russian pipeline deliveries stopped following the Ukraine invasion. The market remains sensitive to supply issues, and traders quickly react to unscheduled disruptions.

Ole Hansen from Saxo Bank noted the unplanned outage underscores Europe’s reliance on imports. At the same time, LNG imports to Europe have fallen due to higher demand in Asia, driven by a heat wave.