📉 European natural gas prices fall to 3-month low 📉
💰 TTF futures have tumbled 60% from last year's record high to 64.5 euros/MWh
🇷🇺 Risk premium drops as Putin seeks diplomatic solution with US over Ukraine
👀 Russia says some troops return to base
UPDATE: European natural gas prices have recovered about 8% since my first tweet
Market is still relatively tight, and Russian flows are weak. Asian importers are snatching up spot shipments of LNG for March and April, leaving less supply for Europe
A quick summary of the European natural gas market over the last few months
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Woodside's new climate plan triggers criticism for not properly addressing its carbon footprint 🇦🇺
Australia's top LNG exporter didn't set reduction goals for scope 3 emissions, which are generated by its customers & make up most of Woodside's pollution
Woodside aims for net-zero emissions from equity in its projects -- known as Scope 1 and 2 -- by 2050
🏭 Woodside’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions from project equity were 3.2 million tons of CO2 equivalent in 2021
🏭 Scope 3 emissions were almost 12 times more, at 37.2 million tons.
While Woodside hasn’t set a firm target for Scope 3 emissions, the countries where its products are sold have the same net-zero commitments, said CEO O’Neill
The fuel that Woodside sells primarily goes to Japan, S Korea and China, which all have mid-century net-zero goals
Russia’s Defense Ministry announced the start of a pullback of some forces after drills that raised US and European alarm about a possible military assault on Ukraine 🇷🇺
🛢️ Brent oil slips below $95/bbl
📉 European natural gas falls as much as 6%
As tensions escalate, President Joe Biden and Putin will speak on Saturday, according to U.S. and Russian officials. The call will take place Saturday morning
Here is a preview of those discussions:
Higher oil prices are bound to boost LNG import costs for utilities and increase electricity rates💰
Most long-term LNG contracts are linked to crude
With Brent at $95/bbl, that means an LNG cargo is roughly $11-12/mmbtu. While that’s cheaper than spot LNG, it’s still pricey
Japan solidified a plan to divert LNG to Europe on Ukraine tension, NHK says 🇯🇵
🚢 Japan to seek cooperation from its firms that have stakes in LNG export plants (after ensuring enough domestic supply)
🚢 Still determining volume/timing
While it’s still unlikely that Russia will cut supplies to Europe, its biggest customer, the continent would require far more than diverted LNG cargoes from Japan to make up the loss
Russia exported more than 1 and a half times Japan’s LNG imports to Europe and Turkey last year