Equinor warns Europe is vulnerable to winter gas price spike if cold weather hits
EQNR•Equinor CEO Anders Opedal warned that cold weather could drive another European gas price spike as storage sits at a historic pre-winter low and Europe competes with Asia for scarce LNG supplies.
1. Winter supply concerns
European gas storage was 75% full at the start of the heating season, its lowest level for this time of year since 2011. Opedal said a cold spell late in the heating season, when storage is likely to be at its lowest, could cause significant price volatility, though he said actual prices were impossible to predict.
2. LNG supplies expand
Norway is Europe's largest natural gas supplier. Equinor also sells LNG from its Hammerfest plant and has started a US LNG supply deal with Cheniere for 1.75 million metric tons per year; Opedal said some cargoes go to Europe and others elsewhere.
