GasTerra to increase activity on German and Belgian natural gas hubs in 2013
Dutch incumbent GasTerra intends to become more active on the German and Belgian natural gas markets during 2013, the company has told ICIS.
GasTerra, which is a major buyer of high calorific gas from the Netherlands' small field, told ICIS that it is looking to increase its presence on the H-gas trading hubs of NCG, GASPOOL and the two Belgian hubs.
GasTerra started trading at the Zeebrugge hub and the Belgian ZTP, which opened in October 2012, and since December 2012, has been active on the NCG and GASPOOL, according to details from its latest annual report.
One source active in Europe's main hubs said GasTerra's decision was not surprising, particularly since Norwegian exports destined for Europe enter into three network points at Dornum, Emden EMS and Emden NGT in Germany and intersect with both the NCG and GASPOOL markets before arriving in the Netherlands.
Similarly, GASPOOL benefits from having direct access to Russian flows via the Nord Stream pipeline.
"All the physical players see that GASPOOL is close to the original source in Europe now, and even if GASPOOL is not a very liquid market, it plays a significant role in driving the Continental prices now," the trader said.
However, while GasTerra is increasing its presence on continental hubs, the company's gas procurement at the TTF registered a 6% decline to 27.3 billion cubic metres compared to 2011.
GasTerra's gas purchases of high calorific gas from the Netherlands' small fields continued to be on the decline due to falling pressure at these fields. As a result, volumes bought by GasTerra dropped by 5.5% to 25.9bcm in 2012 compared to 2011.
Overall, GasTerra's gas sales to European customers, excluding the Netherlands, remained unchanged year on year in 2012 at 48.6bcm. A slight decline in sale to the UK was offset by gains in Germany and Italy. Domestic sales dropped to 34.8bcm in 2012 from 38.1bcm in the previous year. Kirsty Ayakwah
Other Related Stories
