Europe gas prices vulnerable to Ukraine transit stop, says TotalEnergies CEO
Updates context in paragraphs 2-3, context in paragraph 5, detail from interview paragraphs 6-8, background in paragraphs 9-10
By Nora Buli
STAVANGER, Norway, Aug 26 (Reuters) -The future of Russian gas transit through Ukraine remains a key uncertainty for European gas prices, even as the continent heads into the winter with full storages, the CEO of TotelEnergies TTEF.PA told Reuters on Monday.
A transit agreement to deliver Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine, which last year still totalled 15 billion cubic metres (bcm) out of total EU gas consumption of 295 bcm, is due to expire at the end of the year.
Ukraine has said it will not extend the deal. There is also some concern that flows could stop prematurely amid fighting in the Kursk region of Russia, where the gas transit point into Ukraine, Sudzha, is located.
"One of the main factors is about this transit for Ukraine because even if the storage are full, I'm not sure we are fully covered if this is interrupted," Patrick Pouyanne said in an interview on the sidelines of an energy conference in Norway.
European gas storage levels were last seen 91.2% full, having hit a Nov. 1 target two months early, Gas Infrastructure Europe data showed.
The gas market in Europe will continue to be exposed to volatility as there is not much new supply to be added, Pouyanne added, highlighting delays to new liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects like Golden Pass in the United States.
"So we are still in a phase where we don't have much margin on the supply for energy," he added.
This situation was likely to prevail until 2027, the CEO said.
The benchmark front-month contract at the Dutch TTF hub TRNLTTFMc1 traded at 37.03 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), according to LSEG data.
The price had risen above 40 euros to its highest since December earlier this month over fears the transit could stop amid the fighting in Kursk.
Reporting by Nora Buli in Stavanger, editing by Gwladys Fouche
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