EVERGREEN, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As internal violence continues to destabilize Libya, deliveries of pipeline gas to European markets from that North African nation have ceased altogether. The civil conflict has prevented approximately 468 MCM (16.5 billion cubic feet) of natural gas deliveries to the Italian market since February 23, 2011. Since the cutoff, deliveries of gas from Russia have jumped 6 MCM per day (0.2 Bcf/d) and storage withdrawals have risen 89% compared to withdrawal rates two weeks prior to the Libyan delivery shut-down.
“Global natural gas markets are becoming so well connected that a production shut-in in North Africa allows producers from other regions to take Libyan market share in Europe,” said BENTEK Vice President and General Manager Jim Simpson. He added, “North African curtailments to Europe is one more reason the U.S. will not see higher LNG imports and the U.S. LNG import market should drop to zero for the foreseeable future. The recent catastrophic earthquake in Japan has put some upward pressure on the global LNG prices, which is another reason why LNG shippers will be looking to markets other than the U.S.”
BENTEK Energy’s new European Daily Supply/Demand Balance™ report offers a comprehensive look at supply/demand balance, pricing issues and other market fundamentals in major European markets, including the U.K., France, Italy and Spain. Modeled after BENTEK’s highly successful U.S. Supply/Demand Balance report, the new European report allows users to track flows across the European grid in a standardized format and provides daily, macro-level snapshots of production, consumption, LNG imports, pipeline imports and storage injections and withdrawals.
For more information about BENTEK’s new European Daily Supply/Demand Balance report, log on to www.bentekenergy.com or call 1-888-251-1264
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BENTEK Energy is the leading energy markets information company. Based in Evergreen, CO, BENTEK brings customers the analytical tools and competitive intelligence needed to make time-critical, bottom-line decisions in today's natural gas and power markets. Additional information about BENTEK Energy is available on the Web at www.bentekenergy.com. Follow us on Twitter!